Telepathy
by Twisted Fate MK 2
Summary: Jaune awakens his Semblance in the forest when Pyrrha awakens his Aura. It just so happens that it is reading minds of whoever he is looking at. What comes from such a thing? Well, obviously, hilarity and fun. (A mostly serious story with comedic relief from the thoughts of others). ((Co-op with Mika again.))
1. Chapter 1

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **(AN) So, yet another co-op with my new friend, Miki, here. Probably gonna be a thing because, frankly, co-writing is a lot of fun to me. And removes stress because it's easier to check for problems and get fresh ideas with another person.**

 **Anyway, a note while you read. Anything in bold print is the thoughts Jaune is hearing from people. Keep that in mind while you read.**

 **~ Twisted**

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee." Jaune grunted at the sudden burst of warmth through my body, feeling the scratches and bruises on his body stitch closed with a slight pinching feeling, and felt the surge in energy. "Our Aura strengthens and protects us, but you are protected by your own power now. And you have a lot of it." " **Oh my, do you have a large aura."**

He blinked in surprise at Pyrrha's almost sultry sounding words words, before deciding to ignore it and moving on. Looking at his hands he was stunned to see the complete lack of bruising and scarring from his time in the forest. The bruise on his back from hitting the tree when Pyrrha helped him, the scratch on his neck from her spear and the scratch on his cheek were all healed without even leaving any discomfort.

"Thanks, Pyrrha." He said brightly, smiling at her happily and turning to look around the forest," So, uh, which way do we go?"

" **Whichever way you want us to go."** "This way, I think. I saw what look like ruins in that direction." She pointed to their north, and Jaune blinked in confusion at her first sentence. It sounded off, slightly, and he had been looking at her when she said it and her lips hadn't moved.

"W-well, uh, lead the way I guess." He said, and she smiled at him and turned to walk into the forest with him following behind her again.

" **Enjoy the view~"** He nearly tripped when he heard that, and took note that she hadn't moved her lips yet again. He kept quiet though, following her through the forest quietly. Every now and again, he'd hear another thing she hadn't actually said. This continued for several hours of walking quietly in the forest, and Jaune was torn between thinking he was crazy or that he had some superpower.

Eventually, they came to a large cave and he stepped forward, smiling happily," You think the relics might be through here?"

"I suppose it is, indeed, possible." Pyrrha said simply, shaking her head slightly, and he smiled and took a step forward, toward it. "Shall we, then?" " **Oh you sweet idiot, why can't you see the paintings on the wall? There's probably a Grimm in there."**

"Uh, actually, Pyrrha," he said, hesitating and looking at the wall beside the cave's entrance," What, uh, what do you think these pictures are about? They don't look like happy days for us."

"Hm." She stared at it for several seconds before stepping away from the cave, feigning sudden caution," I don't quite understand any of it, but I find it unlikely they would depict a massive Deathstalker for no reason." " **Huh. Spoke too soon. Well, I thought he was attractive before, but now I know I want him~"** He almost tripped yet again, and she shot him a concerned glance," Are you okay, Jaune?" She took half a step toward him, to get within reach of helping him should he need it. " **Do you need nurse Pyrrha to make you feel better? I'll get a costume if you want~"**

"I-I'm okay, just tripped is all." He said, laughing lightly and rubbing his neck with a small, barely hidden blush. "S-So, um, while we walk, tell me about yourself maybe?"

" **I like spankings, blondes, biting…."** "Uh, well, I'm from Mistral and I like… Cake?" She shrugged, smiling sheepishly at her partner. "I'm afraid I am not too talented at speaking about myself without prompting. I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's fine. I'm not that good at talking about myself either, really. Just trying to fill the silence." He gestured at the forest around them, smiling happily," Helps with the nerves."

" **I have a few ideas that could help soothe your nerves."** "That is true enough, I suppose, and I cannot bring myself to deny the anxiety I, too, feel. But so long as we keep our heads we shall prevail." She gave him a pat on his shoulder when she stepped past him to lead the way, smiling warmly at him. "Don't worry, Jaune. I will protect you." " **That ass is mine, no Grimm is getting near it."**

Jaune blushed furiously, instinctively slowing down to walk behind her again to hide his rump from view. They walked in silence for several more minutes before he broke the silence that had, for him, grown to be quite awkward. "So, um, would you mind telling me about semblances?" He had expected to hear the odd words again, but was surprised when he didn't.

"Well, semblances are unique aspects of us. Personifications of our Aura's and personalities, combining to grant us abilities unique in their precise mechanics." She paused to think for a moment, before continuing to speak," A semblance is unique to a single person, down to every piece and parcel of it. For example, two people could have enhanced strength, but the way that it operates would be unique."

He looked at the back of her head then, frowning ever so slightly in concentration," Is there any real limit to what kinds of abilities a person can have? Like, could someone… Fly, or read minds or anything?"

" **You ask really weird questions."** "There is, in theory, no limit to one's semblance. However, a person's personality would need to be quite odd to be able to fly or read minds. Someone who, for instance, can take a lot of damage in a fight would be stubborn by nature. Likewise, someone who can move incredibly quickly would need to be very quick witted or hyperactive." She shrugged simply, turning to look over her shoulder at him," Someone who could fly would be very free spirited, and happy. I suppose someone who would read minds would be curious or perhaps overly compassionate towards others. Why do you ask?"

"J-just curious, I guess. Mostly looking for something to fill the air with though, ya know?" He chuckled quietly to himself, thinking about what she'd said. If reading minds was, at least theoretically, possible then it was indeed possible he'd awakened his semblance along with his Aura.

"We're here." He looked up at Pyrrha's calm voice, smiling when he saw the ruins," Let's head on up then." " **There better be some place I can climb up on first… Here's hoping he looks up."**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Mika here. Before we begin, I would like to thank Coeur Al'Aran for not only creating the omake in Professor Arc that inspired this, but also having the kindness to allow us to continue once we realized that it might cause an issue. Seriously, you're a great guy.**_

 **We have also read some reviews that question Jaune's powers. I will answer them- Jaune can read the entirety of people's minds. However, as he shall soon realize, he must look at them. Only those he is facing can be 'read' properly. And only the closest one can be 'read' when faced. He also has to see them and be aware of their presence, unless other circumstances make that unnecessary. This way he doesn't have fifty thousand people talking in his head all at once because he looked at a building. He can also read any thoughts that happen to be being thought, from the perverted to the useful.**

 **Uh, hi. New chapter. So yay? Honestly, most of the funny is thanks to teeny tiny Mika over there. She's better at that than me, frankly. So give her some credit, guys. ~ Twisted**

 _ **YAAAAYYYS, credit. ~Mika.**_

 **Seriously guys, she's super tiny. And energetic. Kinda like Nora or Ruby. Help me, I feel like Ren. ~ Twisted**

" **Did you look?"** "Yes, that's the temple all right. We just need to head up there and get the relics." She gave Jaune a look, his face slightly flushed as it was, and smiled," What's wrong?" " **You totally looked, and liked it apparently. Good boy."**

"It's nothing. Just thinking of home." He lied, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, smiling disarmingly at her,' _Please don't hurt me.'_

" **Oh yes, and my ass is completely out of your mind isn't it?"** "Oh? Homesick already? Would you like to talk about it at all?" Jaune shook his head to the negative, more towards the internal things Pyrrha had thought than at her question and she shrugged," If you say so, I shall accept your word." " **Is he okay? I didn't break him, did I?"**

"L-Let's just go grab the relics, okay, Pyr?" He asked simply, stepping past her into the clearing and gesturing at the ruins themselves. "Kinda want to get out of these woods, ya know?"

" **Taking charge already? Me likey. And nicknames as well?"** "Agreed. I'd rather enjoy getting out of here soon. Preferably before either of us gets attacked by anything." She looked past him, up at the ruins," Someone else is there already, it seems." " **Other women…"**

"Huh?" He turned, looking up the hill to see who she was talking about. "Oh, yeah there's another pair up there. Well, 'least that means there isn't anything dangerous up there. I mean, they'd attack those two right?"

" **Hmm… They don't look hurt. That's good, we don't have to deal with wounded."** "Let's go meet them then, we don't want them to think we're a Grimm lurking about down here at the forest's edge do we?" Jaune nodded eagerly, glad to have evaded any perverted thoughts from the redhead, and the duo walked up the hill quickly. Pyrrha spoke first as soon as they were close enough," Hello there."

" **... Shipping it like Fedex. Right now, Blondie and Redhead are going to have kids. I will make it happen! She wants the D, you idiot! Get her pregnant, she'll love you forever."** The black haired girl thought, making Jaune redden. "Aren't you the one who threw up on the airship? On Yang, if I remember right." Jaune laughed embarrassedly at the brunette's words, both internal and external, and rubbed the back of his neck yet again in anxiety.

" **Vomit boy again… Is he sick? Why isn't he in the infirmary? He better not puke on me again."** "Yeah, you just stay over there. Away from my boots." The blonde glared at him lightly, taking a wary step back from him. "I just got it out from last time."

"We're not on anything that flies, so you can relax. Motion sickness kinda requires motion to trigger, so we're fine." He said simply, walking past them and looking at the relics," Hey, Pyr, which one should we pick?"

" **Jaune, I don't really care, I'm with you. Now shut up and give me a kiss, damnit."** "That decision is up to you." Jaune felt moderately more comfortable making the choice for them knowing the redhead's thoughts, though he was mildly discomforted by the fact he could hear them.

"How about this white… Castle thingy?" He asked uncertainly, showing her the Rook piece he'd picked up," This good enough?" She nodded wordlessly, an amused expression on her face, and turned to Yang. " **My god, is he a lovable idiot or what? He doesn't know what a rook is?"**

"I am sorry for what my partner did. I hope you'll consider giving Jaune a second chance. My name is Pyrrha, by the way." The blonde shook the offered hand warmly.

"I'm Yang, and this is my partner Blake." She said simply, bobbing her head to the side indicatively at her partner. "You guys do okay out in the woods?" " **You guys okay? Nobody hurt?"**

"We found very few Grimm. Those that we found were no match for us." Pyrrha said simply, smiling in a friendly way," And you?" " **You seem uninjured. And you did get here, so you should be able to help me protect my Jaune."** She turned to look at Jaune, who was looking at them all from atop the ruins' steps - just listening to them - and smiled," **Mine."**

"We were fine. A few of them messed up Yang's hair though. Apparently that's a touchy subject for her." " **Wonder if she likes having her hair pulled. Should make a note of that."** Blake tilted her head ever so slightly to the side when Jaune heard that, and he groaned. All this mind reading was giving him a headache. she turned to look at Jaune," **Mine. You have yours. This ass is mine."**

"Hey, it takes hours to get my hair to look right sometimes. Big black and fluffy messed it up, so I messed him up." " **Touch the do, and get done, son."** The four of them turned when they heard an explosion, just in time to see an Ursa stagger into the field and collapse, a tiny pink thing rolling off its back. "Is… That an Ursa?"

"Aww, it's broken." She whined loudly enough to be heard by the group.

"Did she just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake monotoned," **Talk about a rough ride~"**

" **Well. That was entertaining. Now, where are those relics we are supposed to collect?"** Jaune blinked, surprised that the energetic girl - currently buzzing around the dead Ursa brightly - was so internally cool and calm.

" **Dust damn it, you crazy, energetic, motor of a-"** "Nora!" the boy yelled, chasing her up the stairs - which she had quite literally danced up to grab a Rook like Jaune - and glared at her lightly," Don't ever do that again." " **Scared the hell out of me…"**

"Okay Ren~" She sang, smiling widely and throwing an arm around him in a hug," Whatever you say~" " **It was just a quick way to get here. Why you gotta be so rude?"**

" **Is that what I think it is?"** "Yang, look up." Blake said quietly, tapping her partner's shoulder a few times and pointing up.

"That would be my sister." She said simply, nodding her head needlessly with a mild grimace.

"Falling out of the sky?" Blake asked simply, raising an eyebrow at the to-calm blonde.

"Yep." " **Ohshitohshitohshit, Ruby!"** Jaune had to agree with the sentiment Yang had internally, watching her rub her hands together anxiously.

"Pyrrha, can you pin Ruby to a tree like you did to me?" Jaune asked simply and quietly, watching the Nevermore circle overhead," Preferably nearby, we'll need her gun."

"I can. Maybe." " **Oh you beautiful blonde bastard, that's brilliant."** She took a moment to aim her spear and blasting it off, catching her by the hood and pinning her to a tree across the clearing," Yang, come with me to get her down."

"Blake, I need you to go with them. Ren, Nora, stay with me, we'll cover them if… Things…" He looked up at the Nevermore, a strange compulsion driving him to set eyes on his enemy. The nevermore's eyes locked onto his as it registered his presence, turning about and circling overhead. The Nevermore landed, opening its wings wide, and screeching loudly. Jaune suppressed a shiver as he heard howling coming from the forests nearby, as though the massive bird had summoned those who dwelt in the forest to aid it. "Blake, Yang and Ruby you handle the Nevermore! Everyone else, hold the bridge over there with me!" Jaune ordered, looking around to try and come up with… Something to help them maybe survive this until help could arrive.

"Where's Weiss?!" Ruby asked loudly, anxiety etched on her face," **Once I find her, the hero shall claim her prize! Over and over, just like the heroes from my stories. I wonder what our kids would look like. They'd be so cute!""**

"She was with you?!" Yang half asked, half shouted worriedly, grabbing Ruby and running past with Blake," No time, we'll figure it out later."

" **OH GOOODDD I'M GONNA DIIIIEEEE!"** Jaune looked up when he heard the shrill mental voice, just as Weiss impacted him.

The two of them hit the ground hard, Weiss clutching him. looking around, she noticed that she was cuddling his chest, one of her legs between his knees and one of his between her legs. And then she felt the squeeze. She blushed, looking down and realizing, yep, he was groping her. She was also straddling him. Instinctively, her hand reached out, slapping him across his face.

"Y-you-" " **D-did he just grope me? I mean, i know it was an accident, but…"** The two got up, blushing all the while. Weiss looked up, noting the nevermore still circling around them. "You fiendish, perverted, disgusting-"

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" He half-screamed, scrambling back from her after she pushed off of him forcefully.

" **... I should scold him, but there are more pressing matters at hand..."** "E-ensure it does not happen again. We will talk about this later, once the Nevermore problem is dealt with." She glared at him for a moment before walking away, grip tightening on Myrtenaster slightly. " **Who knows. I might forget about it in the time it takes to kill this."**

Weiss settled in with Ruby, Blake and Yang - having retrieved her quickly and sprinted away from the oncoming mass of black-furred monsters - focusing on the Nevermore, as Jaune raised his shield, ready to fight, just in time for thirty beowolves to rush out of the woods. "Don't let them cross the bridge!"

A few younglings, sensing easy prey, rushed towards Jaune, practically racing each other to be first to draw blood from the young Hunters-to-be. As they closed in, A few even tripped over each other's feet, nipping at each other animalistically as they rushed them. The first young grimm, pitch black with red strips with only a few spots having small bone spurs, hit his shield with a surprisingly normal amount of strength - even for a mere human - and his sword slashed it in nearly half fairly easily as well.

Two more appeared, and he blocked one of the Grimm's slashes as he slashed at the other, killing it as well. The last two rushed him, and he blocked both slashes, pushing back with his shield and cutting the first. The second died a few seconds later when jaune made a wide swing, hitting the final one easily.

Looking around, he relaxed, seeing that all of the other grimm had been killed. Honestly... He felt proud of himself. Sure, he killed a few younglings, but they were Grimm nonetheless. He had killed five grimm today, with his own weapon, wit and skill.

He turned as he heard a series of shots, his eyes widening as he saw the decapitated Nevermore falling to the cavern below followed quickly by the limp, useless body of the massive bird. 'I'm going to be able to do that eventually,' he swore to himself, nodding in affirmation.

 **(Beacon Auditorium)**

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by... Cardin Winchester!" " **Oh God kill me…"** Jaune almost laughed audibly, staring at the Headmaster and hearing his thoughts as he assigned teams. An amusing thing to do, if nothing else. "Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR."

"Good job, Pyr-" He started, turning his head slightly to congratulate his new partner.

"Led by... Jaune Arc!" " **Coffee…"** Jaune's jaw dropped, staring at the headmaster dumbly for a second before turning to look at his new team dumbly. Pyrrha smiled at the look, playfully punching his arm and shoving him to the floor due to his distraction.

"W-what? Led by…" Jaune stumbled to his feet, stammering in surprise and shock and turning to look at Pyrrha.

" **Oh just bend me over right here, you blonde stud."** He turned a bright red hearing the comment, and she tilted her head in worry for him.

"Congratulations, young man." Ozpin nodded, dismissing the new team and moving on with the.

"And finally: Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose!"

" **Oh, that's bullshit!"** Weiss thought angrily, and Jaune turned his head away to look back at Pyrrha. Perverse was better than outright mean, so he preferred to listen to that for now.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **We now know a flaw in the Semblance- Ancient Grimm instantly know where he is if he looks at them. Good side- The younger, non-Ancient Grimm have just enough of a conscious to register on Jaune's semblance, whether or not he is aware of them, however, mindreading is impossible on them as they are not sapient. Animals are not sapient enough either, excluding rare cases.**

 **Mika's note~ concerning the Grimm Jaune killed, Those were the age of Beowolf Ruby killed in her trailer. However, Jaune's were slightly younger, excluding the very first one. None of them, however, are even teenaged grimm. Jaune's slightly more competent at fighting than in canon, at this point.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you, 3largus, for the muffins, they were delicious. ~Mika**

"No, no, no! What was that?!" Glynda called from the sidelines as Cardin fell face-first with a loud _thud_.

"We hadn't even started sparring, and the bitch trips me, that's what!" " **Let's see you squirm, Faunus freak…"** Cardin glared up at Velvet from his spot on the floor, who glanced back and forth from Cardin to Glynda in disbelief.

"I was standing over here! See?" Velvet waved her arms in the air frantically. "I couldn't have touched him!" " **Why won't he give me a break? What have** _ **I**_ **done?"**

" **Why does this always have to happen in my class…?"** Glynda put a hand to her forehead tiredly. "Nevermind that… Mr. Winchester, Miss Scarlatina, take your places again."

" **Damn… looks like she's not having it."** Cardin rolled his eyes as he lifted himself off the floor, focusing again on Velvet. He smiled. " **Oh, well. I can still rough her up a bit before class is out."**

Jaune sat two rows back, feeling sick at the malice oozing off the arena floor. He looked around for something, anything to focus on. " **Notice me."** He heard Pyrrha, clear as day as his gaze passed over her. She was calmly watching him out of the corner of her eye, " **We're going to have a very memorable… 'Fight.' I'm going to test both of our endurances to their limit."** Jaune blushed brightly, pulling out his shield and looking it over as a duel excuse to not look at her and hide his lap from view.

After a couple minutes staring at the emblem on his shield needlessly, he turned to look around the room and his eyes settled on his crush: Weiss. She was so pretty, prim, proper…. " **Winchester is pushing that faunus hard. Perhaps he may wi- Nevermind."** Jaune was simply grateful she seemed to be a normal girl, without any insane quirks. " **I could be on BF4 helping my squaddies, but Noooo~!"**

"Jaune Arc versus Blake Belladonna is the next set for the day." Jaune blinked in surprise, looking over at the dark haired young woman nervously, " **He doesn't look too hard. But give me a few minutes and I can fix that. First, I'll go for the- alright, focus, Blake,"** and sighed exasperatedly at the brunette's voice, getting up and attaching his shield to his arm before walking to the arena floor and hoping no one laughed too hard at him. "Once the buzzer sounds, you may begin. You both know the rules."

The buzzer sounded quietly, " **Forward slash then clone..."** and Jaune saw the woman instantly lunge towards him in a flash, both blades angling towards his left side in a powerful spin. He ducked under the strike, shoving his shield into her stomach and nearly being surprised when she used her Semblance to leave a clone and throw herself upwards to come in from a second angle. " **Huh... Downward slash."**

Instead of slamming into his back, she was surprised instead when he knelt and held the shield above him without looking, angling it so she slid off its side and slammed painfully into the cement of the arena floor instead. She rolled on the floor, coming up and rolling once more to the side using a clone to force the momentum up and coming in for another strike, this time a dual sweep at his left side.

He swept his shield down, smacking into both strikes and tossing her weapons to the floor from her stinging hands, and she backpedaled in surprise from his follow-up slash. " **Huh… He's actually pretty tough… Heh. Let's see if he can counter this..."**

Blake ran towards him and he readied his shield, poised for whatever she did. Smiling, she sprinted headlong towards his shield and then leapt with three feet between them, spawning multiple clones to increase her momentum and slam into his shield painfully, shoving him back a couple feet and scooping up her weapons as she fell, coming up with both blades poised for his skull as she straightened up and half-leapt.

Jaune reflexively brought his sword downwards, and Blake gave a soft eep as the sound of tearing cloth surprised them both. Blake looked down as she saw the large gash in her clothing. A quick peek revealed that, yes, her bra had been hit in the slash as well, the torn strap clearly visible to her, but still invisible to the stands as the gash was simply a small hole. " **W-well, this escalated quickly, but I'm not one to complain about these situations… On the first date, too! could have at least bought me a drink first."** Blake took a few steps back, plotting her next movements. " **Alright, how about from the side?"**

With a blast of wind, she rushed him, bobbing left at the last moment. Jaune brought his shield up to Blake's glancing blow, which careened wide from the recoil of steel-on-steel. Blake's eyes went wide with surprise as she realized just how open she had left herself. " **Shit!"** Jaune's sword came up to meet her back as she spun speedily away, nicking the remains of her shirt and torn strap. another audible ' _RRRRIP'_ was heard as the last of her clothing came free. Various wolf-whistles and hoots were heard from around the room as Blake tried halfheartedly to cover up with the remaining scraps of shirt.

Jaune blushed and turned away from Blake just as he heard her think, " **Oh, you animal. Are you into this kind of thing?"** instead facing Glynda as she covered herself, who shared his beet-red tone.

" **Christ!"** She screamed internally. "Okay! Okay! That's enough! Someone get Miss Belladonna a towel, please."

"Uh, h-here…" Jaune mumbled as he unhitched his chestplate to remove his own hoodie, quickly offering it in the general direction of the topless Blake. He didn't need to look at Pyrrha to know that she was fuming. He felt it gingerly removed from his hand, and - hearing the distinct rustling of fabric that accompanies the donning of clothing - spun with relief to apologize to Blake.

"I am so, so, SO sorry. I really wasn't aiming at-" He began, but was shushed by Blake's raised hand, a mildly amused expression set into her face.

"...It's fine." " **Oh, screw that. You know you liked it. But that was just like Takashi and Rei in** _ **Ninjas of Love.**_ **You and me? Yeah, we're totally sailing if it's the last thing I do."** "You didn't mean to, so there's no harm. Unless you saw anything." " **Please let him have seen something…"** She raised a slim eyebrow at him, and turned to walk back to her seat," I'll get your hoodie back to you tonight." " **With my number in the pocket."**

"N-no. Nothing." " **Dammit."** He ignored her thoughts, doing his level best to retain his cool in spite of them as he thought he'd definitely need to do, given the situations he found himself in regularly so far," And no problem, sorry about your shirt. I hope you can get another."

While she walked away, he couldn't help but think of how nice she looked in his hoodie. Even if, or maybe because, of how snug the chest looked on her right now. Jaune spent the rest of that class receiving pointed stares, and not-so-nice thoughts, from Pyrrha." **That slut must've tried to get you to tear her clothes!"** Mostly directed at Blake, but he was still uncomfortable with the thought of her being upset with something he had done, even if accidentally.

So when evening came he was incredibly happy to be able to sit down in the dorm's common room, hook up his game station and start looking for a game to play. The game in question was a favorite of his, Battlefield. He was one of the best Assaults on the net, #14 last time he checked, and loved getting dug in with his heavy shotgun and holding any line that happened to get set up.

He was just settling in, sending slugs down a long hall into whoever was stupid enough to peek out, when a small quad slammed into the wall next to him and exploded, nearly killing his character, and the person who had bailed out just ahead of hitting the wall put a burst into his chest and killed him. Throughout the game, they fought back and forth, fighting each other tooth and nail for the smallest stretch of land on the map. Once the game was over, he sat back and stretched from the incredibly tense game, and was about to back out of the matchmaking when he got a message from the other player, I-Q-S-17.

'Good game, maybe you would have won if you hadn't been using a shitty pump shotgun.' ~ I-Q-S-17

'It was good enough to compete with you and your pea-shooter. How many times did you fling grenades at me? ~ A-Knight-TeamLeader

'Yeah, yeah, it's tactical placement of explosives. You're just upset that it works like a dream. Anyway, rematch?' ~ I-Q-S-17

'"Tactical Placement?" You mean throwing frags like a noob. And I'll take you on anytime.'~ A-Knight-TeamLeader

The two played for hours, fighting each other on the virtual battlefields. Each one would win a match, only to lose to the other in the next match. Back and forth, point for point. In the end, neither won, but that had stopped being the intent a while ago. Eventually they'd just been playing for the challenges of fighting the other. So they friended each other when the hour started to get late, and bade each other good night before headed to bed.

Once he returned to his room, however, he noted that the others weren't back yet and decided it would be safe to take a shower. Such times were rare, as Pyrrha's thoughts tended to take a lewdity spike whenever he got out of the shower. Having this power had some unfortunate downsides, unfortunately, it seemed and dealing with almost nonstop perverted thought from his partner was… Stressful in the worst way.

So a hot shower was definitely on call tonight, and he stripped down to his shorts before grabbing his pajamas and pushing open the bathroom's door in high anticipation of a nice, calm, relaxing shower. Instead, he felt his face flush intensely and his eyes twitched when he saw Pyrrha's bare back, sitting on the edge of the bath tub shaving her legs. He took a surprised step back when she looked at him, equally surprised herself, when he heard her voice.

" **So naughty, sneaking in while a girl's in the bath."** "J-Jaune? I didn't hear you come in." She grabbed a towel leisurely, wrapping it around herself an smiling disarmingly.

"P-pyrrha, I can explain…." He took a wary step back, eyes wide as dinner plates with a face that would put any lobster on them to shame," I-I didn't know you were-"

"N-no, it's fine. I was just finishing up." " **And he had to come in now, after I finished my bath..."** She stood up, tucking the towel a bit more tightly around herself - and not just to keep herself from spilling out of the towel - and smiled again," It's fine. In Mistral, showers are communal and coed. This happens a lot more than you think. Just… knock next time." " **Or don't, and just watch me take my bath."**

 **(AN)**

 **Twisted ~ So, 200 followers… Just wow. Thanks, Couer, for the shoutout. Like, holy hell, I've never had that many followers ever. Anyway, slightly less humorous thoughts that normal in this chapter. Sorry. We do have sort of a plot going, though, so on occasion we'll have a mildly serious moment. Anyway, thanks for read, please drop a review. Thoughts, Mika?**

 **Forgive me, I'm going though a small semi-rough patch. ~Mika**

 **Twisted ~ You're fine, Mika-chan. You can take a break if you need to or anything. Real life does have a way of interfering with hobbies such as this.**

 **Nope. ~Mika.**

 **Twisted ~ Stubborn~**

 **Nope. ~Mika**


	4. Chapter 4

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Twisted ~ So, almost three hundred followers… Okay then. Wow. I am now a teenage girl, because I can't even. Like, how the frick frack paddy wack? Also, thanks for the muffins, l3largus.**

 ***Too busy nomming muffins to fangirl* ~Mika**

 **Twisted ~ As you can see, i didn't actually get a muffin. Oh well, Mika can have them, she scares me. Like a little Neo in real life.**

 **Mika ~ HISSS *noms muffins***

 **Twisted ~ Help me…. I think she wants to eat my soul next. Anyway, on a serious note, Mika is - finally - publishing her stories. Check out her recent one. A Black Rose. We're successful because of the shout-out from Couer, so I'm givin' one to Mika-chan.**

 **Mika ~ Yays!**

 **Twisted ~ Now then, can I have a muffin….**

 **Mika~ Sure. *Hands muffin***

 **Twisted ~ Yays! Now, for the story.**

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sleep for Jaune had been rather difficult that night, not helped by the rude interruption of Nora showing up with enough pancakes to choke an ancient Ursa Major on syrup alone. As it turned out, giving the ever-hyper Valkyrie that much sugar was not a good idea for your continued mental health. Of course, it was actually Ren's idea as evidenced by his thoughts.

No, the issue wasn't _solely_ about Nora; Jaune still couldn't get the naked image of Pyrrha out of his head, and continued to blush profusely whenever she looked at him and gave that same reassuring smile she always tended to use. He couldn't help himself, and her thoughts showed that she knew why he was blushing so much, " **You're still thinking about me, aren't you? Don't worry, I am too."**

At this point, Jaune wasn't sure what to do about her or even if he _should_ do anything. He couldn't say anything, of course; If he did, it was inevitable that she'd find out he had been reading her mind. Granted, it wasn't his fault, as there was no way of knowing how to switch it off. Besides that, there was the fact that Jaune was _terrified_ to confide in anyone else for fear of how he would be received. He turned to look at Ren nervously from his bed when he heard Pyrrha's thought and groaned, " **Looks like Jaune got a show last night. Wonder when the first babies will show up..."**

Jaune offered silent prayers for a distraction, and was grateful for a swift response by team RWBY, flying down the hallway outside his team's door shouting something about class. The beginnings of his high spirits quickly melted away to an overwhelming panic as he glanced at his own schedule. "We'll be late!"

"Hmm?" Ren glanced at his alarm clock, the last bits of pancake falling out of his slack-jawed mouth. " **Ohshitlatelatelate!"** " _Nora! Class!_ " He turned to his bubbly companion, who obviously had the same realization, proving that she had what it takes to be the world-record holder of 'most pancakes eaten in three seconds'.

"Leggo! Onward to victory and study hall lectures!" " **...And we had** _ **damn**_ **well better be on time. I don't want a bad rapport on the first day…"**

Pyrrha glanced at Jaune again, smiling warmly. "I'm glad you looked, Jaune. We'd best be off." " **You bet I'm glad you looked… Last night, of course. Lead the way, Jaune. Your ass is a beautiful thing when you run."**

The four members of team JNPR raced out the door and into the empty hallway, - Jaune insisting he go last - pulling on the last dregs of their uniforms as they scrambled to beat the tardy bell. All the while, Jaune tried his hardest to shut out the thoughts of passing students.

" **Ludwig Von Barktoven got into Admiral Cheezburger's cat treats again… Honestly, that mangy, scrappy little…"**

" **Ohmigod, I can't believe I got his number after just one night! But he was** _ **really**_ **sloshed. I hope he remembers me when he wakes up…"**

" **...So what kind of plan involves two tons of rubber ducks, 15 crates of double-sided packing tape and a 120-gallon barrel of lube...?"**

As Jaune rounded each passing corner, he couldn't help but get momentary connections to every student that his eyes settled on. Swallowing hard, he finally decided to stare at the floor directly in front of him, keeping the sound of Ren, Nora and Pyrrha's footsteps close by to tell him where he was. A moment later, he smacked into someone headlong. The feeling was something rather… Soft.

"Oh." It didn't sound like an overly angry statement, but Jaune only caught a brief flash of yellow before something else smacked into his face. This one wasn't soft, and caused him to see stars in the daytime, dancing joyfully on the ceiling.

"Y-Yang!" Ruby gasped as her sister floored Jaune, looking around for any signs of oncoming teachers before sitting on her knees next to him worriedly. "He didn't mean to!"

"...Shoulda looked where you were going, Vomit-boy." Yang grumbled dusting off her chest protectively," You can't just run up and motorboat a girl, ya know?" He looked up at her, pouting slightly and she stared down at him. "Only Ruby's puppy dog eyes work on me." " **Does he really think he can get away with that and not get punched? Come on, kid…"**

"Jaune, are you alright?" " **Darn it, the books didn't say anything about stuff like this. What do I do…"** Jaune smiled at the girl lightly, ignoring the pain in his jaw and staggering to his feet.

"I'm okay, Ruby. she packs a mean punch though, huh?" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, watching Yang roll her eyes and walk into the classroom from the corner of his eye," So, uh, class time?"

"Yup." She quipped brightly, smiling, and Jaune made an effort to avoid looking at her or Pyrrha, who had stayed behind to wait for him, and walked into the class. He tossed a look at Port, who opened his mouth to tell him where to sit, and read the information before going to sit next to Ren who smiled almost in an almost congratulating way at him before opening his textbook

He turned his head when Pyrrha sat down, opening his mouth to say hell, " **I can't believe you felt Yang's breasts before mine,"** and promptly choked on air for a second before smiling and saying hello," Hi Jaune. You okay? Yang's punch looked painful." " **My poor Jaune… Want mama to kiss it better?"**

"I-I'm fine. No big deal, I deserved it. Should've been paying attention to where I was going," he turned to look at Port when he started talking, quickly launching into what sounded a good bit like an over-inflated and useless story about his past to everyone but Jaune.

"And so I grabbed the charging beast's tusks," " **Boarbatusks' strength comes from their rapidly spinning form's spikes and tusks, so this way you can stop that if you're able to take it,"** "and then slammed it onto its side and gutted the beast in one swipe!" " **They're weak on their stomachs and lower sides."** And it clicked in Jaune's head making him grab his notebook and a pen, jotting down the entirety of his story and all the notes that the older Hunter gave him from them. Once he was finished writing, he smiled to himself and looked up.

And was surprised to see the man standing in front of him, so much so that he recoiled at the closeness. The larger man had moved very quickly given his size and age, and smiled at Jaune in a deceptively calm way as he reached across the small desk and slid the notebook over to him, spun it, and skimmed the notes. He looked between the notebook and Jaune a couple times before smiling even more widely. "My boy, you truly have what it takes to be a true Huntsmen! Would you care to do an excercise for me and the class?" " **He's the first student to actually pay attention to what I was saying. Already, he's better than most Hunters-to-be in that regard."**

"I-I guess I can?" He stated unsurely, and Port nodded enthusiastically before turning to walk back to his desk. "What's the, uh, exercise?"

"Just go get your equipment, young man. Just go get your equipment." " **This should be interesting."** Jaune swallowed nervously, but did as he was told and walked out of the room without looking at anyone - he didn't need their thoughts right now - to go get ready. About ten minutes later, he stepped back into the class and frowned nervously at the moderately large crate that Port was fiddling with by the window. Port smiled at him warmly, and Jaune nodded nervously and stared at the cage until he heard him speak," Now then, Jaune, I'd like to thank you for volunteering for my demonstration. Now then, you just need to demonstrate for the class what my lecture taught you." " **Please don't die, Ozpin might get upset…"**

"How?" Jaune asked nervously, and Port merely smiled and took a step around the side of the cloth-covered cage before pulling a pin out of the door and nudging it open. Jaune's question was easily answered when a Boarbatusk came out of the cage, clearly angry and huffing lightly. He was the first person the Grimm saw, and as such was the first one the pig charged.

Jaune leapt out of the way and it slammed into the wall before turning and glaring at him hatefully, and he frowned. Thinking about what Port had said, he drew his sword and shield and waited. When the boar charged him again, he let it slam into his shield and spend its energy uselessly before he hooked his shield-arm around its tusks and yanked it onto its side, falling with it and scrambling onto its side to stab it in its lower stomach several times until it died, the closest approximation of what Port had done himself. Just as a precaution, he brought his sword down, slashing the Boarbatusk's unarmored throat.

"Bravo, bravo! Exemplary form! You may return to your seat now, class is almost about to break for lunch." Port clapped loudly and Jaune took a breath and started walking back to his seat.

As he walked up the steps, he felt a small tug on his sword. Looking down, he blushed as he saw that his sword had gotten stuck in Ruby's skirt and was lifting it up. Ruby blushed herself, trying to push it down as Jaune fiddled with it, inadvertently yanking it up and down.

"Get it out of my skirt" Ruby whispered, trying to keep some resemblance of calm in the situation at hand.

"I have an idea, just hold on a second." Jaune whispered back, reaching his hand for the button on the top of his sheath to unfold the shield. "Here we go…"

"Hold on, what are you going to do?" She asked anxiously, watching him in worry and trying to wake up her sleeping sister to get her help.

"Unfold the shield so I can get your skirt unstuck." Jaune replied simply, pressing down on the small button on his hip after finally finding it. The shield expanded with a small _SNAP_ as the elastic in the band gave way, the skirt tearing completely in the process. Jaune blanched and Ruby squealed, and Jaune had just enough time to tense up before Yang's fist slammed into his jaw again and tossed him across the room and into a wall, easily putting him to sleep. His last conscious thought was a simple observation - ' _Pink with a black bow.'_

A few hours later, Jaune groaned and rubbed his head to try and massage away the splitting headache, and looked around the small infirmary he had woken up in. His eyes widened as he spotted a familiar-looking Fox faunus. Black hair, yellow eyes, ears and tail, and a simple nurse's outfit, alongside a very familiar emblem.

"Jaune Flavie Arc, I am so disappointed in you." Luna Arc spoke up, her fox ears and tail twitching in irritation.

"H-hi sis!" Jaune said simply, waving nervously from the bed and smiling at her in as disarming a way as he could manage with the large welt on his chin.

"Don't 'hi.' me, you blonde idiot. I've told Dad about you being in Beacon." And suddenly Jaune wished he hadn't woken up yet. Or ever, for that matter really. "And he is incredibly pissed off at you."


	5. Chapter 5

**Mika~ Guys. Guys. Stawp. Apparently Luna being a faunus is a big mystery. I might as well end that right here and now- This chapter will answer that.**

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"It isn't that bad, right? I mean, how mad could he really be?" Jaune laughed nervously, smiling at his sister as widely as he could. "Right?"

"The shed is gone, you stole Crocea Mors and you took your training armor without asking." " **I'm sure if you'd asked you could have had them."** She flicked her tail impatiently and aggravatedly," You're fine now, by the way. That blonde has a mean hook, by the way, almost broke bone."

"Yeah, I'm screwed on both counts. Yang will probably put me right back in here when she sees me next, assuming Dad doesn't turn me in." Jaune sighed, sitting up and Luna pushed him back down on the hospital bed," I thought you said I could leave."

"No, I said you were okay now. You aren't leaving until I say so." " **Wish you'd have stayed asleep. Maybe I should put you down or tie you to the bed...?"** Jaune blanched at the prospect of being trussed up like a present," So why'd you run off?"

"I had to, to get into Beacon. Mom would have never let me go, and I had to take the armor because I spent all my money on tuition just to get in. I took Crocea Mors because… I just felt like I should." jaune shrugged unsurely, grimacing at the inadequate explanations he'd offered," I just want to help people, learn to protect them. And I'm good, Luna, I beat one of the better first years in a spar earlier. When's dad coming?"

"Stripped her, more like. A week or so, relax. And don't worry, He's not going to report you. " Luna countered, smiling teasingly, and sighing," I can hear you in the hall, come in here or leave. Preferably leave, talking to my adorable little brother." " **Insufferable interruptions."**

"I was just worried about Jaune," said 'adorable little brother' winced internally when he heard Pyrrha's voice, not looking at her face or his sister's to avoid hearing anything he may not want to. "And Blake wanted to have a word with him as well."

"Very well, come on in." " **Ohohoh… Jaune's got a few girlfriends~!"**

Pyrrha, Nora, and Blake entered the room, Nora bouncing around as usual and jumping to her leader's side. "Jaune! You're awake! I thought you might have died." " **You stupid idiot, I was worried…"**

"She wouldn't even eat her her pancakes." Pyrrha offered helpfully in amusement, smiling warmly at her partner. " You said you're his sister?" " **But she's a Faunus… Was she adopted? ...Is she actually his girlfriend?!"**

"Yeah. Dad met Mom in Menagerie a few years before they both moved to Vale and started popping us out. Mom… She's a bit different from most Faunus. She's blind, for one, whereas most Faunus have great eyesight."

"That never stopped her, though. Or Nyx. Turns out we're a very stubborn family." Jaune chuckled, turning to smile at Pyrrha brightly when she stepped forward to shake his sister's hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Luna." " **That's good, so they're actual siblings… Guess I'll have a few Faunus sisters."** Jaune almost sighed at her thoughts, but he was getting better at hiding his reactions to things like that. Besides, Pyrrha was rather pretty...

"The pleasure's all mine." Luna smiled, taking the offered hand and shaking it gently before looking behind her. " **Jaune has his hands full, this girl's a potential yandere... Do I smell cat?"** Jaune followed her eyes to look at Blake, standing in the doorway with a mildly bored expression, and grew confused for a moment. " **Cat… And a hint of blood. She's injured."**

"Oh, sorry, miss, didn't see you there. Who are-" She gasped a bit in pain as she clutched her leg and practically fell into a chair beside Jaune's bed, rubbing her upper right leg gently. " **Goddamn… This old wound acting up again… It's been healed for years..."** "Sorry about that. Anyways, who are you, miss?" " **Yeah… She's definitely a faunus. Probably trying to hide it… Smells like she's using heat suppressants too. Probably in the last few hours of it, too."**

Jaune blanched at that, turning to look at Blake and seeing her bow - almost invisibly - twitch slightly. then he smiled thinly, and spoke up to warn Blake," Yeah, sis got hurt a while back. Used to be a Huntress. I remember back in Menagerie, we used to have her try and guess what kind of Faunus a person was by smell and sight. Never got one wrong."

Blake's eyes widened in shock as she realized what Jaune was implying. A few seconds later, she had brought back her usual expression and spoke calmly. "That's impressive. I can't imagine doing that." " **Stupid, stupid Blake… I should've guessed a Faunus would've been able to smell me and a human raised by a Faunus could probably tell too… Although, he didn't tell anyone… Why?"**

"Indeed, that is highly exceptional. I'm impressed." " **...Glad she's not competition, though that still raises the bar a bit. Oh well, I can work for it if I need to."** Pyrrha's smile only slightly faltered, and Jaune almost groaned in aggravation until he remembered Pyrrha had the legs. And they were great legs, especially paired with her miniskirt... He blinked the thoughts away, frowning to himself ever so slightly.

"Oh, that reminds me, Miss Belladonna. I think you're injured." Luna's ears twitched noticeably as her voice lowered to Faunus levels, her mouth closing so it looked like she was finished talking to the humans save Jaune. "Agree with it, it's about you being a Faunus. And doctor's orders." " **Easier for me to calm her down…"**

"Yes, ma'am." " **Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit…"** Blake smoothed her uniform's skirt and walked over to one of the four other chairs in the moderately large room, which could easily hold four patients and their equipment judging from the space and extra beds. This was one of the few hundred rooms in the infirmary, stocked with the latest in medical tech.

"Now, the rest of you, please leave. Pyrrha, take care of Jaune for me? I'm leaving him in your hands. And remember, no strenuous physical activity." " **I can't leave Miss ADHD in charge, so Yandere's the only choice… I'd rather Blake be in charge, but I have to check this out."** Jaune once more almost groaned at the prospect, but Pyrrha _was_ walking in front of him right now…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When the room was clear, Luna turned to Blake, sighing slightly as Blake took off her shirt, showing the self-bandaged cut on her arm. As Luna unwound it, her nose crinkled at the metallic smell of old and fresh blood. "Why didn't you report this to Ms. Goodwitch? Or even report this to us? The only reason I know about it is because I could smell it."

"It seemed fine at the time. It was only a scratch, so I wasn't worried about it too much. I also… Didn't want to attract attention, if I could help it." Blake grimaced lightly," It did not work."

"So you proceeded to enter a fight the very next day and tear it open?" Luna asked sharply, glaring at her lightly and cleaning the wound. Blake flinched at the feel of the antiseptic, and Luna hummed lightly," This is a lesson you need to learn. Be grateful I'm not using the heavy stuff. You're lucky it isn't infected, Crocus Mors is a very old sword with a lot of blood on it, Grimm and otherwise."

"It seemed like it was a simple scratch, I figured my Aura would heal it up no problem!" The hidden-Faunus grumbled lowly, wincing at the stinging sensation," And I'm not a child."

Luna sighed, looking at the wound for a few moments. "Well, you managed to make a simple scratch into a bigger deal than it needed to be." She sighed, starting to re-bandage the wound as gingerly as she was able. "That's pretty childish to me."

"Anyways, Ms Arc, what is this about, aside from the scratch?" Blake knew when someone had ulterior motives, and Luna sending Jaune away made more sense if she had some other reason to want them alone.

"Jaune is too inexperienced to even be here, even if he's talented enough. And he isn't, at least combat wise. I should know, I gave him a few scars myself. I know you're not part of his team, but can you look out for him for me? I get the feeling that the Nikos girl isn't the best person to ask about this, she'd go overboard." Luna pulled the wrapping tight, which would hopefully keep the wound closed until it could finally heal properly," I figured one of my fellow Faunus could give me a hand with that."

"What do I need to do?" Blake asked seriously, honestly anxious ver the request. Luna could legitimately ask for anything and she'd have to give it, and that prospect terrified her to the core.

"Just help him train and study. Mostly train. Make sure he can stand up for himself, that type of thing. I'm worried about him… Keep him company too, he's no doubt lonely and I doubt he cares about what you are." Luna smiled brightly,and Blake was surprised by the request," That's all I ask. Nothing too difficult. I just don't want to lose my little brother."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once they had left, he decided against going back to his dorm room for a while and instead left Pyrrha - who cited that she had to do after-hours work and couldn't play - to go to the common room, and booted up his game. He was elated when, a minute after he signed in, his newest friend invited him to a lobby to start playing a match on his favorite map Metro.

They easily won the match, Jaune and his newer friend being the MVPs of the match with little effort, and backed out while S ate dinner and simply text-chatted. He didn't want to join a match without someone who could at least keep up with him after all.

I-Q-S-1-7~ 'Good shooting that match. You almost did as good as I do on a bad day. Almost.'

Jaune chuckled at the message, smiling before typing back," Remind me again, who had more kills last match?"

I-Q-S-1-7~ 'Shut up. Besides, kills aren't everything. Look who got more points.'

"Points doesn't matter for attachments and progression. And guess who got five more this match?" Jaune countered brightly, smiling while he sorted through his newly acquired gear.

I-Q-S-1-7~ 'Oh be silent, you fiend! Or do you want me to stomp you one on one again?'

Another few round passed, and they scored each win as easily as they had the last. This last time, Jaune had less kills than his new friend, but that was easily overshadowed by something he had done which amazed them by quite a wide margin. S had been flying a chopper and he had been riding along, and an enemy fighter was harassing them. On a lark after he'd died, he'd played as an Engie for a moment and fired a rocket at the incoming fighter, that had smashed into its front and destroyed it.

I-Q-S-1-7~ 'Oh you magnificent bastard, that was utterly amazing.'

"I do try my best. Plus I couldn't let my best team-mate down." Jaune smiled and sent the message, rubbing his empty stomach and thinking about breaking for the night, as it was getting later and he was getting rather hungry.

I-Q-S-1-7~ 'I mean... I've legitimately never seen that before in my life! We won the match because of you. And things usually don't get past me like that.'

"Because it takes a lot of skill, and I'm the only guy you know that's that good at this game, though I know a better Engie than myself. Anyway, it's getting late and I haven't eaten yet and need to catch up on the class I missed earlier, so I'm gonna call it for tonight." He grimaced, not liking having to leave so soon, but between food and whatever he'd missed in class today, he needed to get off a bit earlier than normal.

I-Q-S-1-7~ 'That's fine, gonna grab food myself actually and head to bed. Classes tomorrow, you know how it is. See you tomorrow, squaddy.'

Jaune turned off the game, stretching slightly as he exited the room, yawning slightly. He turned the corner to the cafeteria, settling into the small line of late-comers like himself and was surprised to see Weiss a couple people ahead of him. Curious about her rather odd lateness, he followed her to a more secluded corner of the cafeteria and sat down with her, ignoring the suspicious glare she sent him when he sat down next to her. "Don't wanna sit all by myself, that's all. Most of these guys are upper-classmen."

"I see…. Well, I won't be here overlong. I need to get back to studying." " **Maybe Leader will be online when I get back, I'd love to squeeze out a game or two with him before bed."** Jaune almost choked on his burger, managing to contain it only because he'd gotten so much practice with ignoring Pyrrha's thoughts, and instead thought to use the information to make at least a friend of his admitted crush.

"So, Weiss, I was wondering… Have you ever found time during tutors or… stuff to play a nice video game or anything like that?" he smiled politely, and the girl's eyes practically lit up at the thought that someone wouldn't mock her for her hobby, as had been the norm among her family. "If you don't mind me asking, I mean."

"I admit, I have played a few in my spare time when I could. Why do you ask?" Weiss smiled politely after asking her question, taking a prim bite of her sandwich and doing her best to school her features as she'd been taught to do for years. " **21470 gamerscore is spare time, right? I think so at least..."**

"Just making small talk with someone who I'd enjoy being on friendly terms with. So, what do you play when you can?" Jaune was doing everything he could to remain cool and calm, so he wouldn't fuck up his chance to get closer to Weiss. "Personally, I prefer shooters."

"Horror, RPGs, FPSes… Truthfully, I do not distinguish much in what I'm willing or not willing to try. Aside from Rhythm games and Puzzles, I dislike those. And 'jumpscare simulators', I despise those outright as well." " **It's a stupid genre, all about cheap scares…"**

"Sounds a lot more like it's a hobby then spare time, which is cool I play alot too. So, do you play Battlefield? I was playing earlier tonight with a friend."

"Y-yes, actually, quite often. Why do you ask?" " **Oh Dust, no way is he who I think he is, absolutely no way… Then again…"** Weiss blushed lightly and Jaune smiled at her.

"If you play on X-Cube I might pop in sometimes, I'm a shotgun Assault. One of the best on the net, too. Me and my friend S are a great team, you could join in if you want to." He smiled warmly, looking at the surprised - if rather well hidden - face of the Schnee, who quickly took a bite of her sandwich to buy a moment to think. Though, with Jaune, that wasn't quite as useful as one would think.

" **Oh god… This is Knight? Jaune Arc? ...Well, he is from a very well-known family…I suppose If I did date him Dad would not object… I'll message him later..."** Jaune did choke on his food that time, and Weiss shot him a concerned glance, which he waved off before taking a drink of water.

Well, he supposed, that worked a bit better than he had thought it would.

 **(AN)**

 **Okay so, once again, more plot than humor. Sad. Sorry guys, but the general consensus thus far has been that people do want a good, solid story with a good, solid plot like I normally try and do, just less dark and more fun. So that's what I'm gonna do. Next chapter will be, unless Mika-chan over-rules me, mostly funny times as a sort of filler, which I may do a second of, before more plot time.**

 **Anyway, after this, I really do need to focus on my Sins of the Past fic. Been focusing on this a bit more since it has so many more followers than anything and everything else I've done. So if you guys are interested in my more serious fics, feel free to skim my other stories and offer input. I value input highly from anyone, and if anyone has questions about this story or any other or suggestions for new stories then PM me or leave a Review.**

 **Thanks for reading~**


	6. Chapter 6

**Mika~ So. I just realized that I made Jaune the protagonist of a Harem anime. And here I was, hoping to keep everyone IC… I was an idiot. Also, I apologize for the wait.**

 **Twisted ~ Now, now, Mika, it's all my fault. I wanted a harem for one of my stories. Muahahaha! *coughs to clear his throat* Sorry, inner maniac came out there for a minute.**

 **Mika~ So, as you can tell, (And as some guessed back in Chapter 1) this is a harem. The girls? Not telling~...**

 **Twisted~ No one ask me, I can't keep secrets….**

 **Mika~ Twisted, you know my planned harem!? My papers are useless… Sorry folks, Telepathy is over! *Starts torching papers***

 **Twisted~ Nuuuuuuuu! *Watches the fans desert***

 **Mika ~Twisted… I just accidentally my cat pictures…**

 **Twisted~ Oh no! The kitties!**

 **Mika~ SAVE THE KITTIES! *desperate flailing***

 **Twisted~ Meh, too lazy. You can save them. Also, 470 followers?! Seriously?! How?!**

 **Mika~ My kittehs...**

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

" **No way I'm going to lose to this punk again!"** Jaune sighed, rolling under another wide, crazy swing and smashing the edge of his shield into the larger man's legs to drop him. He sidestepped a downwards swing that shattered the ground, Crocea Mors darting in to slash at him before Cardin could react. Inwardly, he sighed as he realized that without his Semblance, he would have lost badly ages ago. But lucky for him, he had it. Cardin grunted when he hit the ground, rolling over to come up for a vicious swing. Instead, he glared at Jaune along the edge of his sword bitterly and Glynda called the match as a win for the young Arc, by tournament rules for a death blow.

"Remember, everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away! It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing! Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale!" Glynda called after checking her Scroll for the time, smiling lightly at the fact that no one had been injured or, god forbid, _stripped_ this week. She still couldn't quite understand how _that_ worked in any way, but had elected to ignore it.

With that said, the bell rang, finishing up class for the morning and the students dispersed from their groups and head back to their rooms to change. Jaune blinked as he saw Luna standing there when he and his team left, a serious look on her face, and took a nervous breath. "Sis?"

"Jaune. Do you have a moment? I have something important we need to talk about." She said lowly, watching the last few students file past and giving a soft sigh. " **Here's hoping he can do something…"**

"Y-yeah, what's wrong?" Jaune asked nervously, anxiety redoubled by ber thoughts that he had heard. They sounded frightened and worried, which did both to him.

Luna looked to his team, blinking softly. " I'm sorry, can we have a moment alone?"

"Of course." Pyrrha nodded, as she filtered out alongside the other duo. Nora scarcely noticed the tension and scarcely reacted to leaving Jaune behind aside from a wave, and Ren merely nodded in respect before he continue.

"Glynda. Can we get this room to ourselves for a while? It's a family thing with Jaune." She gave her a classic, winning smile that she often used when dealing with other teachers and officials," We just need a space to talk for a bit and we'll be gone."

"Very well, Miss Arc. Just clean up anything you do and lock the doors when you leave." Luna nodded, ears twitching animatedly, and Glynda strode past them out of the door, and Luna relaxed ever-so-slightly.

"Thought she might have said no. That would have been a bit of an issue, and I'm glad it didn't come to pass." " **That could've gone badly..."** "It's about Flare, she wants out, and needs help to do it."

"Is there a plan already? Or… Do we need one?" Jaune asked in confusion, frowning in thought. That Flare wanted to leave, and had actually called for help, was a bad sign if he'd ever seen one.

"Yeah. They just need to get to Vacuo and they can hide out, she has friends there who will help her in that." Luna shrugged simply, and Jaune sighed as he knew it couldn't be that simple," I just need help getting her to Vacuo. Money's… An issue for her. Her employers controls all of her money, so she can't use any of hers." " **Would be so much easier if it was just the one…"**

"They?" Jaune asked warily, crossing his arms over his chest to think," That might make it harder to get them out. Not that it's a problem, just saying."

"Her boyfriend's getting himself out." " **Hopefully, at least."** Luna countered easily, grimacing," I mentioned the added problems when we last talked, which is why he's going on his own."

"Nice to see she got a boyfriend after all, has he talked to Dad? You know how protective he can get." Jaune chuckled lightly and smiled, his sistering mirroring it. Both had somewhat fond memories of him over-reaction to boyfriends and such.

"No, they've been in Vale for the past few years. Never had time for it. And yeah… I remember mine clearly enough. Good thing too, he was a total dick." " **Asshole stood me up..."**

"Well, we need money, and I do know a rich person… Dunno if she'd be willing to help a Faunus though..." ' _Wonder if Weiss would gimme a hand?'_ Jaune sighed internally, muling it over to himself.

"That might work if you can convince them." " **Unless it's a Schnee. I'd be surprised if a Schnee helps a faunus."**

"Should be easy enough, we're friends after all. I'll… Talk to her myself, she'll probably take it better from me." Jaune groaned, anticipating the headache already of convincing a Schnee to help a Faunus," I'll figure out what I can do and come see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure. Also, we might need a few more hands. At least one person who can get in and fight if needed and another who can give ranged support." " **Preferably Faunus, but that's not necessary. Just have to be careful..."**

"I know a couple people, maybe. We'll see." Jaune grunted, electing to ignore his sister's thoughts no matter how prudent they may or may not be," I'll see you later."

The trek home to his dorm passed fairly quickly, eyes cast to the floor in fear of making eye contact with anyone and reading their minds. He had enough on his own without finding out everyone's passing thoughts, though he did pass Glynda and pick up something," **Lube and bits of fruit all over the science lab… Poor Peach, everyone plays pranks on her for being so small…"** He shook of the passing curiosity easily enough, and soon reached his dorm's door and opened it with his Scroll. ' _Let's see, I have to ask Pyr about helping me with Flare…'_

As the door opened, he blinked, a light blush coming up to his face as he saw Pyrrha and Nora standing there, nude from the waist up, changing their uniforms. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "Jaune. Didn't hear you walk in." Pyrrha greeted, neglecting to cover herself as she rummaged through her drawers. Jaune's blush deepened as he saw a flash of lighter pink. In comparison, however, Nora was the one who showed a hint of modesty by covering up with an arm.

"S-sorry about this." Jaune apologized, forcing his wandering eyes up to her face- _Breasts..._ " **He's checking out my breasts… maybe I should…"** Jaune's blush deepened as he saw her bend over, a clear view of her exposed chest visible to him from the side, and he considered whether or not to look away.

"It's alright, Jauney! We're just teammates." " **Besides, only Ren's going to get to touch them. As much as he wants."** Nora smiled brightly at him, and he gave a meek wave in response.

"Anyways…" He began, searching for what to say helplessly in an effort to distract himself. "Ren's getting his food. So, uh… Yeah."

"Then we should join him." Pyrrha said with finality, smiling thinly at him. " **And here I was hoping I could spend some alone time with Jaune…"**

Jaune and the now changed girls soon sat down in their usual place, settling in with Team RWBY easily at their favored table near the door. Nora was bouncing in her seat brightly in front of her plate of pancakes, and Jaune did his utmost to ignore certain _bouncy_ objects as best he could, looking like she had a story to tell.

"So! There we were, in the middle of the night..." Nora began, smiling brightly next to a very bored looking Ren. Yang looked interested to an extent, and Blake was reading a book, as usual. Ruby and Weiss were both eating their meals quietly, and Pyrrha was staring at Jaune out of the corner of her eye and chewing on a slice of pizza slowly. Jaune, himself, was barely paying attention, thinking about Flare.

"It was day." Ren piped in, instantly correcting her with a bored tone and a small smile. " **Damn it, I thought I hid the syrup well enough… Guess not."**

"We were surrounded by Ursai…" She continued, uncaring about the interruption. " **Damnit, Ren, lemme have some fun."**

"They were Beowolves." Ren corrected again, taking a sip of coffee.

"Dozens of them!" Nora screamed, jumping up. The other tables, already well-acquainted with Nora by now, wisely ignored her, continuing their respective conversations or electing to simply eat.

"Two of 'em." Ren added.

"But they were no match... And in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!" Nora finished, sitting down with a dramatic flair.

Ren sighed as he facepalmed slightly. "She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now."

"You okay, Jaune? You seem distracted." " **Do you still remember my breasts? I could remind you if you like."** It was to Jaune's massive credit that he maintained a straight face and didn't gag on his burger, something which normally would take rather considerable effort from him.

"Just thinking about something Sis told me earlier is all." Jaune sighed, dropping his half-eaten burger on his plate and giving her a weak smile, "Remember how I said I had seven sisters?"

Blake, Pyrrha, and Nora nodded, while the others just looked confused. "You have seven sisters?" Ruby asked in surprise, munching on a cookie mindlessly. "Thash alot!" " **So many sisters..."**

"...Oh, yeah, you weren't there. My elder sister, Luna, works in the infirmary. She called me and told me that another sister of mine needs help." Jaune sighed, grabbing a fry and nibbling on it half-heartedly. "A few people want to kill her, so we're going to stop them, but I'm just a single person and Luna's crippled. The two of us can't do it alone, and all my other sisters are too far away." Jaune sighed and shook his head tiredly, reaching for another fry and sighing when he came up empty.

"Then let us help you!" Ruby instantly answered, getting a smile from Jaune at her enthusiasm, she was so sweet as she always, no matter what, wanted to help her friends in any way possible.

"Thank you, Ruby." Jaune said honestly as everyone else nodded in agreement.

"It only makes sense we help out a fellow student." Weiss said, nodding. " **It's not like it's that big of a deal. Plus, if he is Knight..."** Weiss shook her head lightly, dislodging the distracting thoughts.

 _"O_ w! That hurts!" Jaune turned his head and saw a brown-haired rabbit Faunus being harassed by Cardin and his team, and he felt a small brimming up of hatred as a memory hit him.

" _Big sis, why do you always get in trouble for hitting those guys?" A much smaller, younger Jaune Arc asked his elder sister, Flare. Flare gave a small grimace as she looked at the nine year old._

" _It's because they're bullies." The fourteen- year old said simply, shrugging. "And they deserve nothing short of a punch. I might be getting into trouble, but they're learning to leave me alone. That's what the armband stands for- Getting bullies and those who would push people like us around to leave us alone." Flare said, pointing to the White Fang armband on her right arm._

"Please, stop..." The faunus said, snapping him out of his reverie and filling his belly with fire. "Please…" She sounded so pained and sad, and Jaune could feel the anger spreading. And then, he remembered what Flare taught him.

"I told you it was real!" Cardin said, laughing at her and yanking her ear a couple more times.

"What a freak!" Russel Thrush added, laughing loudly when Cardin gave another yank.

At that, Jaune had enough. Getting up, he grit his teeth as he went to the end of his table. "Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, blinking in surprise and watching him walk towards CRDL angrily. But then, midway through, he seemed to regain his normal posture, relaxing.

"I suggest you apologize to the lady." Jaune said in a tone that seemed level, reasonable, and kind. Normal. He even gave Cardin a small, friendly smile, even if it was a bit of a stiff one.

"Fuck off, wimp, we're just playin' with the bunny." Cardin jeered, smiling at him in an almost-warm manner," But I'm bored anyway, you can have it for a bit." He shoved Velvet's head, slapping her behind as she staggered away into Jaune, and the group laughed loudly at her embarrassed expression.

"You okay?" Jaune said gently when he caught her by the shoulder, smiling comfortingly.

"Yeah, my ears are just sore…" " **That bastard slapped my ass!"** She gave him a smile in thanks and took a step away from him nervously.

"Relax, miss. Tell me, do you smell fox on me?" He smiled lightly again, ignoring the aggravated looking Winchester.

"Yes. Are you a faunus?" " **Please don't chase me..."** He almost, _almost_ chuckled at her immediate thought, the humor in it taking him by surprise.

"No, but I'm the brother of four fox faunus. Go sit down over there, I'll escort you back to your team soon. I just need to… Clean up. And I'd prefer you watched." Jaune finished darkly. He took a step to Cardin, his neutral expression still on his face as he came closer and closer. idly, he remembered some of Flare and Luna's teachings- ' _So, when you get into a fight with multiple people, and you are unarmed, this is what you need to do..._ "So. Cardin. Why, exactly, did you do that to a lady?"

"What, slapped her ass? It looked spankable. 'Sides, she probably liked it, little rabbit-headed Playboy skank." He laughed, watching Velvet's ears sink in what he assumed was embarrassment. It was, in reality, anger.

"Alright then." Jaune said simply. He grabbed Cardin's head, slamming it down onto the table that was next to them hard enough to break his nose with ease. Russell gave a gasp of surprise and, to his credit, reacted immediately with a right hook. ' _Now, Right hooks are fun because…'_ His hand darted in before it had already been halfway to his face, and his other hand pushed against his head, forcing him into a simple arm bar.

Sky was next, coming up with a few punches. Those punches impacted Russell's chest as he hid behind it, grabbing a heavy plastic cup and throwing it at Dove as he pivoting to slam Russell into the table as well to knock him out. By now, Cardin was up, his nose bleeding heavily and twisted at a bad angle. Jaune saw that he was intending to do a straight punch, and reached up to grab it. His fingers went up, up… Slipped out of his grasp, and Cardin's fist hit Jaune's cheek, causing him to recoil.

' _You will get hit. You will hurt. Pain is temporary. But if you get into a fight, you have to keep fighting. You don't know if the other guy has a knife, a gun… Either way, you can't stop. You can't tap out.'_

Jaune, now pissed even more from the punch, grabbed Sky's wrist, twisting his arm and, with a small amount of Aura like he had seen the others do, he pushed against Sky's arm, hearing a loud pop and a scream of pain as his arm dislocated. Now one on one, jaune raised his fists in a basic boxer's stance, smiling as he remembered Luna's additional advice. ' _Always remember- sometimes, the best defense is a good offense.'_

His fist hit Cardin's nose, another Crack sounding out. He swung again, hitting his nose for a third time. Cardin fell to the ground, whimpering, as jaune looked at his bloody knuckles in an almost wondering yet still tense way, before he loosened them, turned, and walked away, Velvet watching with an amazed air.

Jaune stepped outside, feeling a rush of anger towards Cardin as he growled in displeasure and kicked a wall. "You seem even angrier after that." Pyrrha noted, as Jaune felt the crisp fall air. " **What was that…?"**

"Sorry you guys had to see that. Cardin drew up some bad memories about my sisters." Jaune took a steadying breath, continuing to walk through the hall towards the roof," I just need air."

"I'm sorry." Pyrrha said simply, smiling warmly at his protective nature " **He must care for them a lot…"**

"Don't be, it wasn't your fault in any way. It was Cardin being a douchebag that caused that…. Episode. And a bit of stress, with everything going on, I guess."

"You need someone to talk to?" Pyrrha said simply, taking a step forwards. " **Like it or not, I'm here for him to talk to if he needs it. Gotta help my man sometimes, part of the job."**

"Yeah. That would be nice… You want to know something funny? Even though I'm better than Cardin, I lied to get into Beacon, he did it legitimately." Jaune spoke up in a torrent, deciding that somebody should at least know it before his dad told the entire school whenever the hell _he_ showed up.

"I'm sorry?" Pyrrha blinked, surprised. She hadn't expected him, of all people, to have cheated his way in. He seemed to mush of a straight shooter for that. " **He must be a very skilled forger for him to have fooled Beacon… Impressive, to say the very least."**

"I stole some transcripts and bullshitted my way here into Beacon, Pyr. I didn't pass any tests, I didn't go to any schools… In fact, it's only because of my Semblance I've even managed to stay here! And you know what? I felt, for once in my life, like I had actually belonged to something bigger than myself aside from my family. Like I could actually look at my how-many-grandparents and consider myself worthy of the Arc Name. And then this happened. Flare wanting out. Dad finding out. That faunus girl…" Jaune threw open the door to the roof, striding across it angrily and staring up at the stars searchingly. "Cardin just set me off, that's all it was I guess."

"Flare wanting out? I thought you said the group wanted to kill her?" He chuckled at Pyrrha's confusion, ever so slightly, and smiled thinly at her.

"Flare's a Lieutenant in the White Fang, or I guess she was one at this point. We all were members, even the humans, before it turned into the violent.. thing it is now. It was a family thing, and we were always at the front, ready to take a bullet for what was right. They might not care about Faunus, but if a Human got killed... Only Flare stuck with it. And now she's finally realized how dangerous it is." Jaune let out a shaky breath as he remembered those days, and let his emotions free of his mind. "And now I have to save her…"

"And… You mentioned a Semblance? What is it? Mine is Polarity." Pyrrha said, telling him something that only she and her father knew. " **What is it I wonder? Shields, Magnetism, Steel?"**

Jaune sighed, looking her straight in the eyes. "Mine is telepathy. You just thought that it was either Magnetism, Shields, or Steel." He gave an offhanded wave," And that's just an example, of course."

"How long have you had it?" Pyrrha said breathlessly. " **Oh shit… Answer me, Jaune."**

"Since you awoke my Aura, back at initiation. Thought I was crazy at first, hearing voices, but… It's worked thus far, so I'm not crazy."

Pyrrha blinked a bit, before, without even thinking about it, her lips met Jaune's in a kiss. " **I don't care that you can read my mind. I still like you a lot."**

Pyrrha deepened the kiss, and they broke off, looking straight into the other's eyes.

"W-wow." Jaune said breathlessly, surprised at the sudden action. "That… Escalated quickly."

"Wow, indeed." Pyrrha agreed as she kissed him again, smiling into it ever so slightly and snaking a hand down to grip his behind. " **...Mine."**

As they broke the kiss, Jaune stared directly into her eyes and spoke up. "Mine, indeed."

Around the corner, hidden in the shadows, Cardin smiled cockily to himself as he put his mace away and turned to slink back, further into the building.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Mika~ By the way, all cat pictures were saved or backed up. After that fiasco, I'm not torching anything else. So Telepathy lives on!**

 **Twisted~ Good work Mika. *slow claps***

 **Mika~ Do I have to open The Box?**

 **Twisted~ Please don't….**

 **Mika~ Good. *Puts The Box away***

 **Twisted~ *Cowers***

 **Mika~ Also, thank you again for 470 followers. For those of you who we missed, forgive me. You are important to us too, but we can't keep the number updated regularly.**

 **Twisted~ Because of these numbers, we've elected to ignore the other stories we have while we work on this one. Because, I mean, how can about eighty followers compare to almost five-hundred?**

 **Mika~ Or ten...**

 **Twisted ~ Stories take time, hon. They grow exponentially over time.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Twisted ~ So as a note, we started writing this directly following writing the chapter prior. Reviews and requests, therefore, may not be taken into account as of yet. If they happened early enough, they may be, but if your input isn't taken into account then while I apologize, I also state there is nothing we could do. Also, since last chapter was serious in tone and the prior one was also mildly so, we elected to do a fun one to round out that night as a separate chapter. Enjoy~ Also, Mika is a tiny human. And she keeps trying to put me in the Boo Box… Also, as a note on Cardin, he never went to the infirmary. He was up and after them right when they left. Finally, this story is mostly centered not on humor but on living life. That does result in humor, yes, but life isn't all fun and games and neither will this be. There will be plot and seriousness, but nothing incredibly heavy nor nonstop like my other stories.**

 **Mika~ Did he take time to fix his nose?... Probably not. Was it broken?**

 **Twisted~ Basically, it got busted. Blood, pain, no broken bones though. Just enough to put him down long enough for them to leave.**

 **Mika~ Also, because everyone misunderstood what Luna said two chapters ago- Pyrrha is not a Yandere. Luna just misread the situation.**

 **Twisted~ *whispers conspiratorially* Totally a yandere….**

 **Mika~ *Shows The Box***

 **Twisted~ M-Mika, no!**

 **Mika~ *Undoes the locks on The Box.***

 **Twisted~ M-Mika, no means no. Please. Not the Boo Box...**

 **Mika~ Is Pyr a Yandere?**

 **Twisted~ …. No…**

 **Mika~ *Locks the box and puts it away* We're in agreement, then.**

 **Twisted~ … She's a bit of a Yandere. *runs* Truuuuuth!**

 **Mika~ *Runs after him with the box***

 **Twisted~ You cannot capture me! I'm not a pokemon!**

 **Mika~ *Throws the box and hits him***

 **Twisted~ *muffled pleas***

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"S-So, uh, does this mean we're, you know… Together?" Jaune asked meekly, Pyrrha leading him through the halls of the school for more than one reason. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about him constantly reading her thoughts all the time, but she knew that she did like him quite a lot and it certainly made communicating her feelings... Easier. "I just, ya know, wanna know for sure what you think… The right way, I mean."

Pyrrha sighed, seemingly lost in thought for a moment, and Jaune gave her a curious look in spite of himself. " **How can I put this… Ah!"** She turned to face him, a faint smile on her face. "Jaune, since you know my thoughts, you know how I really feel. But I'll just say it and make it easy. Yes, I want to be your girlfriend. The kiss wasn't just some one-time thing, we can do it again." " **Frequently…"**

"I just don't wanna… I don't know… Force you into something? It's stupid." Jaune sighed, smiling lightly at the answer," So, what do you, uh, wanna do?"

"Well, How about you just let me take the lead?" " **While I do want to be your girlfriend, I can't afford a pregnancy yet. Perhaps after graduation."** Jaune blushed brightly at her mental words, and Pyrrha chuckled at it brightly.

"Yeah, I don't want to be a father just yet, thank you." Jaune chuckled and turned to face away again nervously, trying to avoid reading anymore thoughts if he could. "M-Maybe later."

"Oh? Later? How much later do you intend to wait to pursue what you know I desire, I wonder? Right now is later..." Pyrrha gave a small chuckle, as Jaune knew that she was just teasing him. Though… He was tempted, watching those long legs move so beautifully under her stockings, he was almost mesmerized by it. "You're staring."

"N-no I'm not!" Jaune defended loudly, blushing madly and averting his eyes," I-I'm just trying to avoid looking at your head so I don't, you know…" He gestured at his head, in spite of Pyrrha not looking at him," Wait, how did you know I was-"

"Just a lucky guess, frankly. You are allowed to look, you're aware. I mean, you know that more than words can convey, given your… Condition." " **Say the word, I'll even give you a show, Jaune. There's plenty of empty rooms around..."** She turned her head to look at him, stuttering and spluttering, and laughed for a moment. "We're almost back to the dorm, last chance…"

"Later, Pyrrha. Later. I… Don't think I'd be able to handle it right now, honestly." Jaune sighed, thinking about it for a moment, before a picture of a naked Pyrrha in the bathroom popped into his head and he blushed brightly," Nope! Not ready!"

"Not ready for what, Jauney?" Nora asked brightly, hand on the door to their dorm," And why are your lips… Pink?" " **And Pyrrha's lipstick is messed up… Did they bang yet? I hope not, then I owe Yang fifty Lien."**

"Hello, Nora. Me and Jaune were just going for a walk, so he could cool his head. That's all." Pyrrha lied quickly, thinking up a reasonable answer on the spot. " **Dunno if Jaune wants anyone else to know yet…"**

"Why is Jauney wearing your lipstick, then? Were you kissing? Having sex?" Nora questioned, her eyes narrowing. " **Kissing wasn't in the bet, so if it was just that…"**

" **Shit… Well, maybe I can..."** "W-Well, you see, we-"

"Pyrrha was worried about me because of what happened, we talked… And I decided to kiss her." Jaune said simply, telling a lie in the truth and shrugging," I just… Needed the comfort, and now we're sort of together."

Nora seemed satisfied with that answer, nodding her head in a nearly uncaring way. "Congrats!" " **...Damnit, so I did lose."**

"Can we just… Go to bed? Please?" Jaune groaned, headache blossoming behind his eyes," I'm kind of out of it."

"Hey now, you can ask Pyrrha that but-"

"Nora…" Jaune glared lightly, gesturing at the door, and she giggled and let them in. Ren didn't even question anything, and Jaune avoided his face entirely and fell into bed. He couldn't get to sleep for a while, listening to everyone mill about and change in their own time, rustling cloth and squeaking springs telling him everything he needed to know. He knew that two people had gone to bed at least, and rolled over to stare at the wall tiredly and unable to actually sleep.

A few moments later and he felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned his head slightly to look up at Pyrrha ," **Do you mind? I really want to snuggle with you."** He blinked at the thoughts, unable to make out much more in the dark room now aside from her hair, and grunted an affirmative before sliding further towards the wall. A second later he felt his blanket shift and another weight depressed the bed, before he felt skin press against his back. He felt cloth and skin pressing against his back, mostly cloth but in some places skin, and it took him a second to realize that she was in her underwear. He felt a small blush form as she shifted, snuggling into his back comfortably.

Jaune opened his eyes, feeling two soft breasts pushing against him. Turning around, he noticed that Nora and Ren were asleep, and sat up slightly. He gave a small muffled meep of surprise as he saw that, sometime during the night, Pyrrha's bra had come undone and that it was somewhere in the bed.

"Pyrrha." Jaune gently said, shaking her awake and doing his utmost to ignore the slight movement between them. Quite a feat, frankly, given the thing between them doing the moving.

"Wha-? Jaune. What are you… Oh yeah, I slept with you…" " **Sad you didn't wake me up… Could have had a night to remember..."**

"Pyr, you lost your bra last night in my bed. You need to find it before the others wake up." Jaune whispered, feeling around with his feet for the missing article of cloth

" **Oh. Oh shit! Yeah, that's something I need to do!"** Pyrrha darted into the sheets, rummaging through them, and in a few minutes, was modest… As much as a girl in only underwear could be, though the four of them were used to that much. After that, the morning proceeded in a rather normal way for them. Ren shot them a somewhat knowing grin, and Jaune raised an eyebrow at it, but he left the room before anyone could say anything or Jaune could 'read' anything.

Nora followed her partner quickly, and Jaune was about to do the same when Pyrrha grabbed his hand and pulled him into another kiss," **Wanted another for the day, sorry."** Jaune rolled his eyes, but couldn't really complain and be honest about it.

Breakfast itself was a quiet affair, until RWBY showed up, which itself was rather normal. RWBY was more rowdy, typically, than JNPR and Nora fed off it and grew more hyper because of it. Pyrrha always sat beside Jaune at the table, but today she was sitting closer, leg leaning against his own intimately. He smiled at RWBY and opened his mouth to speak, " **That bitch…"** Weiss gave a small smile and waved at them lightly and Jaune's comment died into a squeak.

He turned to look at Pyrrha when she rubbed her leg against his, and she smiled at Weiss calmly," Morning, Weiss. How did you sleep?" " **Mine. You lose. No Jaune babies for you."**

Yang noticed the close proximity between the two, as well as Pyrrha's rubbing, and smiled as she spoke up. "Pyrrha! Trying to impress some master swordsman, get him to put his Enchanted Sword into your Cave of Wonders, do battle with the fearsome dragon within?" " **Hehe, I love that show..."**

"What's the dragon in that metaphor?" Pyrrha asked, curiously with a small smile. " **Take the hint, Jaune, if that's what I think it is…"**

"Her hymen." Jaune replied quickly, before Yang could respond, to kill the joke she was trying to make. He almost immediately regretted it as well.

"Chlamyd- Wait, what?" Yang blinked, shocked. Ruby gave a small blush, Weiss's knuckles tightened almost imperceptibly on her fork, bending it slightly, and Blake almost dropped her book in surprise. " **Wait, that bitch actually… had sex with Jaune?"** Weiss' voice echoed in his head, and Jaune blushed brightly.

"I'm familiar with that joke, Yang." He said seriously, glaring lightly at her. "Pyr's my girlfriend, yes, but we haven't had sex yet." The girls relaxed slightly, and Jaune felt that he had dodged a bullet there, and looked at Pyrrha who had the biggest smile he'd ever seen on her face, though she quickly tried to hide that fact. " **That was close. Gentlemanly of him, but close. Good work, Jaune, I think you just earned more kisses later."** After that, breakfast was fairly quick and quiet. They ate and cleaned up their table, then left to head to that day's class.

It was Friday, meaning that it was the day they had class with Peach to learn about nature and biology. The aim of the class, as the professor stated at least, was to teach students how to survive in the wild while on Hunts. Knowing what sorts of food and plants would kill you or make your life harder, and what would sustain you was, obviously, a useful area of study, in addition to being able to identify herbs that could help or hinder a Hunter. Today was a class about the latter instead of the former.

"Alrighty then, Class." Peach began, settling into her usual friendly demeanor. Peach was a diminutive woman, five-foot at the tallest, with vibrant green eyes and short pink hair. She wore the same standard uniform Port did, though the female variant with a skirt, and had a dirty apron on over top of it that seemed to be cut off at her shins, below her knee-length skirt. Two other Hunters stood in the corner, obviously there to help her today. "Mr. and Mrs. Nocturne here, former students who graduated just last year themselves, came to me with a request. A request that I agreed upon. This plant here I assume none of you have heard of." Peach continued, holding up an air-vented plastic bag that contained a small flower, root and all. The center of the Flower was a pale blue, and the blue slowly turned to pink as it went to the outside.

"This is Ambrosia, it is a potent aphrodisiac. The flower, when touched by a woman of suitable age, causes Heat in faunus and ovulation in humans. In both cases, the affected girls exhibit the same traits as a regular Faunus's heat cycle. For those of you who are unfamiliar, that means that, human or faunus, they will chase you down, boys. They will catch you, and they will mate with you until they are pregnant. That being said, If you use this against a woman's will, not only will you be arrested, you will be fighting Grimm. Not just any Grimm, the big ones. The S-classes. Reavers. Ground-dwellers. Sepultures." The boys in the audience felt a shiver as those names hit them, sufficiently cowed. "Now. The root of Ambrosia affects men the exact same way, excluding increases in testosterone, aggressiveness, and possessiveness. Faunus, of course, have familiarity with Heat and so it affects them slightly less. That being said, there is no difference between using this herb on a person against their will and drugging them with chloroform to take advantage of them in the eyes of the law."

Peach glared out at the students, looking around, before her eyes grew soft. "Now, if you want to guarantee your chances of having children, the halves are available to buy in pill form in two pairs, male and female. For those that are infertile or sterile, even one of these is practically a gift from heaven. For those who want to have fun having a child with their significant other, these will also help them to have children. That being said, you need to be able to identify it by sight. The identification is simple- It is the only colored flower of it's type. Now, we'll have each of you come up and take a look at them. if you bust the bag, all of the opposite gender breathe out forcefully and cover your mouth so you don't breath it in. I have the neutralizing agents here. We will discuss them after identifying Ambrosia." She took a breath after her long-winded speech, and smiled," Now, I need a volunteer to carry the male bag and another for the female, so that everyone can get a good look at them and know when they see it in future. Girls to one side, boys to another, please. We do not wish any accidental exposure to occur."

Cardin stepped up alongside a female student as the female Hunter handed him the flower, sealed into an airtight bag. Idly, Jaune noted that the other girl had gotten the root, and was running it through her fingers through the plastic idly with an odd grin. " **I wonder if my boyfriend would enjoy us using this…"**

"Please return this to Miss Nocturne once you have shown the class, Mr. Winchester." Professor Peach said. "And Miss Wren, please return it to Mr. Nocturne." She finished. "Both of them acquired it for personal use."

The huntress flushed with embarrassment as she looked to her husband, her wolf tail swishing slowly from side to side and Jaune smiled, feeling a genuine bond between the two, and looked over at Cardin. " **That should work…. Just need something to trip over now… Perfect, it's Arc."** Jaune sighed when Cardin walked up to him and 'tripped', stumbling slightly and squeezing the bag. Knowing what to look for, Jaune saw Cardin pinch a corner and pull to leave the tiniest hole. He considered telling Peach, but then he'd have to explain how he knew Winchester was up to something. Although… If he didn't it could cause an issue… " **That faunus'll get hit and then the girls'll get hit by it too. And they'll all come to me."**

Jaune bit back a laugh at his plan. Obviously, he didn't know how Heat worked, something that didn't surprise him in the slightest. They wouldn't all run to him, they'd run to their boyfriends, their crushes… People who they were attached to. Jaune turned and saw Pyrrha and froze for several long seconds. As she returned his stare, Jaune made a ripping motion, followed by an index finger directed at Cardin, then the bag. Pyrrha's eyes slowly widened as realization struck her.

" **...Well shit. As much as I'd love to get in on that, you'd probably have something to say, huh?"** Jaune rolled his eyes and nodded, pointing to the cluster of huntresses and miming shooing them away. " **Yeah, I got it… Honestly I guess a little Jaune Jr. would be difficult to raise in beacon right now."**

Pyrrha glanced around the room in thought, simultaneously watching Cardin's bag of flowery destruction inch closer. Jaune internally swore as many nearby girls already showed signs of being affected - glazed eyes, red faces and heavy breathing among them. He urgently motioned for her to speed it up.

" **Yeah I got it, I'm just-"** she began her train of thought, trailing off as the worst-case scenario hit the room in a tidal wave of air conditioning. " **Ohshitohshit. Air circulation is… Jaune… run."**

Professor Peach seemed to catch on as girls started to groan and tense like Beowolves ready to pounce. "There's a leak in the bag! Mr. Winchester, stop moving, please!" She grabbed an ungodly large aerosol can, spraying wide arcs around herself as she sprinted like a madwoman towards the affected girls, spraying them with an equally wide arc. In a few minutes, they were blinking, their senses returned to them.

" **With pleasure…"** Cardin smirked like an idiot as the swarms of affected huntresses began to move, inevitably, to their respective romantic inclinations. " **...Wait, what? No, over here, girls, the stud is-"**

Jaune didn't stick around to hear the rest of Cardin's conceited thoughts. As he turned to the exit, Mrs. Nocturne, now lost in the pheromones from the plant, jumped at her husband as he effortlessly caught her, obviously used to tackles from his wife.

"Sorry about this, Professor Peach, Noire's obviously already sampled some Ambrosia, along with most of the class." He idly trailed off, spraying a much smaller canister into Peaches' face as a precaution and then another girl's.

"LET ME LOVE YOU!" The huntress said happily, her wolf tail wagging furiously. Peach, partially covering her own face, shot him a look as he pocketed the herb and turned to his wife.

"Behave and I will." Mr. Nocturne said simply, spraying a second girl.

"Yays!" Noire sat down, fidgeting in the chair impatiently.

Jaune blinked as he saw Pyr, Weiss, and Blake look at him, giving off a small smile as he turned and ran. 'Hold up… When did Blake get feelings for me?' he idly noted as he pushed through the crowd of boys, hearing three sets of footsteps behind him. Turning his head, he noted that, yep, the three girls were affected. And following him. " **I don't want this yet… But it feels sooo nice… Maybe I'll use this again, when I'm ready… Jaune~"** he internally noted from Weiss, giving him a decent idea that they were still somewhat in control. He turned around, practicing a very ancient art- Running away very fast.

"Jaune! Please stop running, You're making us sad..." Pyrrha said sweetly, her panting breath and glazed look betraying her intentions. " **Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine… Get in me."**

"Yeah, Jaune!" Weiss added, her voice sounding sweet, in a weird, ' _Who are you and what have you done with Weiss?_ ' sort of way. "Let's cuddle!" Blake merely gave a small growl, running slightly faster than the others and slowly gaining on them.

Jaune turned the corner and almost slammed into a simultaneously fleeing Ren, only his recent 'training' saving Jaune from a disastrous tumble. "Hello Jaune! May I have Ren-Ren?" He heard Nora say, running after Ren alongside the other girls.

"Those three?" Ren idly noted, gesturing to the girls as he ran alongside Jaune.

"Yep. Nora?" Jaune replied, pointing his thumb at the aforementioned girl.

"Classroom ahead. You close the door, Ren?" Jaune spoke again, looking at the open door of the disused classroom.

"Be fast, because I'm not waiting for you. Nora is insane enough under normal circumstances, I don't need to see her drugged and…. Whatever this is." Ren warned breezily, aiming towards the door.

Jaune slid into the room, Ren following as he slammed the door into the girl's faces. The two of them heard fists hitting the door, the girls plainly wanting in for one reason or another. Ren held his hands up before the entrance, Aura barricades spouting forth to bar all encroaching women.

"Uh, Jaune. Help?" Ren grunted simply, gesturing with a jerk of his head at a few old, dessecated desks.

"Right." Jaune shoved a large, ragged desk stacked high with outdated and defaced textbooks into the doorway, and Ren lowered his hands in a tense sigh.

"So… What now?"

Ren held up a few playing cards in reply.

"Of all the irresponsible, idiotic things to do, this takes the goddamn cake, Mr. Winchester!"

Cardin looked like a deer in headlights before the terrifying onslaught of the diminutive Professor Peach. She stormed back and forth in a righteous fury, while a bemused Ozpin watched from the sidelines, sipping on his midday cappuchino and hoping the surprise visit from Peach wouldn't come to include Glynda, who would no doubt find the stiff alcohol he had "accidentally" added to his coffee to be worthy of Glynda-sized punishment. She did carry a riding crop, after all.

"I just-"

"Silence." Peach's voice took an even darker tone, causing both Cardin and the headmaster to cringe. " I understand that no one was seriously... injured, and indeed, the only addition to the population was going to happen sooner or later, but who's credit is that? By the way, please congratulate Mrs. Nocturne on the baby when she has the shower, won't you, Headmaster?" She took a step to Cardin, who swallowed hard. "And you _will_ do the same… by writing a lengthy letter that also apologizes for the unneeded fiasco that occurred today! Do you want to know how long…?"

Cardin blinked, not altogether certain he'd like the answer. Peach smiled a thin, cold smile. "...two pages." Cardin relaxed a bit, before tensing up even more at the rest of the request. "For _every_ day Mrs. Nocturne is pregnant with her child."

Ozpin gave a small spit-take. "Professor, I do not need to remind you that that is approximately five hundred and sixty pages… Assuming it's a forty-week pregnancy."

"And he will do every single one of them! Do you know what he almost did?! On Purpose, I might add!"

"Perhaps I should step in now…" Ozpin said, a stern yet reasonable tone sounding in his voice. "Mr Winchester. What you did today, had it had caused any Huntresses to be… indisposed… would be a crime of the highest magnitude. But it did not occur, much to our own and YOUR relief. That being said, you WILL write to Mrs Nocturne. Two pages for every week of the pregnancy… No. Eighty pages apology. And then, one hand-written page for each of the twenty girls you so uncaringly affected."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Twisted~ Mmm… Stockings...**

 **Mika~ I'm the perv here, Twisted.**

 **Twisted~ B-But stockings are amazing!**

 **Mika~ I agree wholeheartedly. Anyways, we find ourselves facing an issue- We need OCs.**

 **Twisted~ your OCs won't be main characters. At all. Most will get a tiny, little part, here or there. This won't be like Lentel in Fragments (if anyone read that) or The Games We Play by Ryuuji, these are literally just extras.**

 **Mika~ So. Here's what we need: "Name, race/description, personality, basic weapon, age, extra info". That's it.**

 **Here's an example for an unseen yet mentioned character.**

 **Nyx Arc**

 **Fox Faunus**

 **Her usual clothes are a pair of jeans and a black hoodie, as well as sunglasses to hide her blindness. She has three small ring piercings on her right fox ear.**

 **Nyx is calm, courteous, and reserved, Mostly due to her blindness. As she cannot see, she prefers to let a person's personality shape her opinions.**

 **NA, Non-combat school Schoolgirl.**

 **17.**

 **Air Semblance allows her to "See" using air currents in a 500 feet (152 meter) circle around her. Can also use wind as a weapon.**

 **Remember- We need everyone. Not just Hunters; civilians, soldiers… In fact, preferably**

 **Twisted~ The more details, the better. As I said, you won't make a main character. At all. Sorry.**

 **Mika~ Or even a side character. Anyways, if you wish to put one, please PM me, Mikisanji, or Twisted the OCs. Submissions will be until we state otherwise.**

 **Twisted~ Yup! Teeny tiny Mika is the one compiling it.**

 **Mika~That being said, I, personally, will not accept Review submissions unless you are a Guest or have a genuine Review to post. If you have nothing to say save for the OC, please PM either of us. Also, apologies for the earlier post, we caught a few issues and deleted the chapter to fix them.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Mika~ So. themetaduck brings up a valid point in his/her review. Pyr and Jaune seem to be advancing quickly relationship wise, wouldn't you say, Twisted?**

 **Twisted~ Meh, mild sociopath, like I know how that'd work. Plus how fast did Pyr start crushing on him in the show? A week? same rate of crushing, Pyr just found out he knew everything and said fuck it.**

 **Mika- Jaune and Pyr's relationship is mutual infatuation. It could become true love, but is now merely lust and affection from both sides. That being said, worst case scenario, they'll still remain close friends. Just not lovers.**

 **Twisted~ That's Mika's schtick more than mine. Also, for the next few weeks, I will be writing for a Youtube group. Mika knows to whom I refer. They are called "TheTemplewalkers", we're rather new and don't have many subs so if you'd check us out, drop a comment, maybe a sub, we'll be doing basically what we're doing in this fic. Funny skits and stories, even animations, as well as Let's Plays. I go by Fluffy, and my Google name is Ozpin Cane so feel free to chat it up. Thanks. *self gratification and shameless self-advertising over.***

 **Mika~ *Slow Claps***

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It took several hours of tedious card games before professor Port came and told them that everything had been resolved and they could safely move about. He had also recommended going immediately to see whoever had chased them there, as it was almost a yearly occurrence that some young 'rapscallion', as Port had referred to it, would try something like this. Which was why there were rarely very grave consequences, and also why they had pre existing countermeasures for it.

Jaune had taken the directions well, and gone to see them recovering in the medical area - being treated to ensure all of the pheromones were out of their system, so no other issues would or could arise - and they had spent another hour profusely apologizing for their behavior, and he had managed to get them on board a Dust flier with him and Luna, before going to talk to his sister privately.

"So, are you ready?" Luna asked gently, sitting down in a chair with a small groan and glaring lightly at her smarting leg. "Once we get this rolling, there will be no going back. Anyone and everyone who helps us will likely become a permanent target of the White Fang." " **If we aren't careful. If we are, they'll be chasing ghosts..."**

"Yep. Everybody has a… basic idea what we are doing, at least." Jaune said with a small sigh. He was… Terrified, to say the very, very least. If unfriendly Fang members found them out, they'd have to fight… And they may need to kill people. He'd never, ever done that and he was terrified to do it.

"What do you mean?" Luna said, a hint of concern etching into her voice, for a multitude of reasons not the least of which being that he may not have done what he needed to do for them to pull this off. " **No, no… we need this to go smoothly if we want to survive."**

"Only one has any idea that Flare's a member of the White Fang..."

"...Will that be a problem?" " **Shit… That could be a massive problem."**

"No. I've got the one's help to convince the Schnee, though. Things… Kind of got in the way of asking about it yesterday. I'm sure you've heard by now."

"Here's hoping it goes well…" Luna muttered to herself. "Well, I have the weapons we're going to take with us set out. A choice of basic weapons for everyone. Assuming you're taking twenty people, but I know you aren't, we have enough ammunition and equipment for everyone and anyone, all untraceable. We also have a lot of clothes. Uniforms, civilian clothes… I have no idea how you got all of those girl's measurements, but we have a uniform and alternate clothes for each of them." " **You better not have found twenty volunteers..."**

"Only eight. Not including you." Jaune offered helpfully, grimacing and lifting one of the simple red carbines the Fang often used off a table to look at it. He'd never held one of these for the Fang, having left long before and, in addition, being human, but he'd seen many old friends carrying them. And often enough, soon he would stop seeing some of them. It didn't take a genius to add that math up. "And… Don't worry about the measurements, the girls gave them to me."

"Good boy." Luna smiled affectionately, though the smile soon grew strained. "You know… Mom and the others are worried sick about you. Especially Nyx." " **This might be the last mission we take."**

"I'll call them. Make sure they know I'm okay, but I'm going on a mission." jaune said simply, grabbing a proffered uniform and Ren's clothes. His proffered uniform. Inwardly, he wondered what he would be like if he hadn't left.

 _{In another place, a Human White Fang member sneezed, making the other glare at him in the now-ruined silence. Any comment that was made was cut out as the other man heard something."Train's here. Jaune, you ready?"_

" _Let's do this."_

" _Go tell Blake."}_

Jaune dialed a number in his scroll, sighing slightly as he took a seat, his uniform and mask innocently on his lap, and rubbing a thumb and finger together nervously. "Hello? Who is this?" He heard Nyx say on the phone.

"Hi Nyxie. Heard you and Mom were worried about me. Figured I'd check in, say hi." Jaune said, a hint of affection creeping into his voice.

"Jaune! Mom, It's Jaune! Jaune called!" Nyx said excitedly on the other end, and another voice entered the call.

"Jaune, me and your father were so worried when you didn't call…" Celeste Arc said breathlessly, obviously on a different phone. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Managed to make it into Beacon after all. I was made the leader of a team, Mom. Team Juniper. You and dad are coming in four days, right?" The question was one of nervousness and anxiety. What would his parents think about his… Situation with the girls?

"To Beacon? Yes. Your father seemed angry at first, but now he's more relieved than anything. Where are you?" His mother was always like this, protective and anxious over her kids regardless of age.

"I'm in an airship, heading off to a mission. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Luna, my team, and another team I'm friends with are with me." Jaune said, easing any fears Celeste may have had. "That's nine people for a three-person job. We'll be fine. Anyways, there's a briefing very soon I have to be present for."

"...Stay safe, call me after the mission. Please. As soon as you can. I worry about you, you know." He smiled, nodding to himself.

"I will, as soon as I can. I promise. Love you both, tell Dad hi for me okay?" He knew that the man would enjoy that little message, he was a rather sentimental sort.

"He'll appreciate that. Love you." Celeste answered. "Love you too!" Nyx echoed cutely in the background, making Jaune smile widely. Jaune closed his scroll, sighing a bit as he walked into the main room, anxiety clear on his face. He needed to phrase that just right. Before he could forget, he handed Ren his clothes.

"Alright… My sister, Flare, is defecting from the White Fang." He began.

Immediately, he noticed a change. Weiss seemed more… Complentative than before. Everyone else had responded with little fanfare, save Blake who seemed almost… Panicked?

"So, we are going to be her private Bullhead. And we are going to take her and a few of her men to their new lives in Vacuo, safely away from the White Fang." Jaune said simply, hoping the others could help come up with a more precise plan.

"We should just arrest all of them…" Weiss said grimly, grimacing in obvious discomfort and irritation," **Animals…"**

"Weiss." Jaune shot quickly. "I know you have personal issues against the White Fang. But this is my sister you're talking about. What your family's done… I understand the White Fang's views, though I disagree on one crucial fact: Violence hasn't solved anything. Fear will just feed hate, and when the White Fang falls human/faunus relations will be back to the Faunus Wars. Perhaps worse. But if that happens again, I'll be on my family's side." Jaune levelled an intense look at the girl, who held it for a brief moment before looking away.

"Fine." " **He's so… passionate about that. But that doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are nothing but butchers and animals. "** Jaune opened his mouth to say something to the obviously upset girl, but ultimately decided against it for now. He'd spend some time with her later to try and cheer her up, he already felt bad for snapping at her as he had done.

"Anyway," Luna interrupted smartly, hoping to diffuse the issues," We have enough Fang uniforms for everyone who will be infiltrating to get Flare, as well as weapons. All untraceable. Only a few of you need the uniforms, however. Blake, Jaune and I will be infiltrating. Ruby, Pyrrha and Weiss are on ranged support and scouting, Ren and Yang will go in if needed to extract everyone should trouble arise." Luna gestured to each in turn as their job came up, smiling grimly," If trouble does start, focus on fighting your way out. Everyone will mostly be on our own here, but we must do our best to remain anonymous. No semblances, if you can help it." " **Last thing we need is for someone to kill us in our sleep because they found out who we were..."**

"Why not? We're Hunters, right? Even if we are just in training, we can take a few White Fang!" Yang said cockily, prepping Ember Cecilia.

"There are three hundred White Fang members in this camp. Twelve of them are allied only to Flare. Fifty more may put Flare above the White Fang. You will not take out all of them. A few will have your outfits, your emblems, your weapons… And then they will know where we're from." Luna supplied with a small smile as everyone stared at her save Jaune.

"...Maybe not a few. Hehe..." Yang said simply, lowering her arms.

"You see why we'll need disguises, then? Especially you, Weiss."

"I can see the value in disguises." Weiss agreed as she got up and put Myrtenaster inside a locker, stepping into the room to change into her new clothes. Behind her, the girls followed, Jaune undressing and putting on his specially tailored… Spectre uniform?

Now that he looked at it, yes, this was a Spectre's uniform. Meaning if he checked the lockers… In the one labeled with his name, he felt his jaw drop. He was masquerading as a Spectre.

Hopefully he could keep the swords.

Inside the other room, the girls were getting dressed, Blake looking at her perfectly tailored White Fang uniform. Ironically enough, it was a Lieutenant's uniform, Her former rank when she partnered with Adam. Every other person in the room was wearing a generic set of jeans, a black shirt, and in Ruby's, Weiss's, and Pyrrha's cases a grey cloak that could blend in with the urban environment of the roofs and alleys, where they'd be waiting to assist and into which they would vanish utterly.

"Blake…" Luna began softly, putting her beret on her head, in a full-on Major's uniform. "You need to get rid of the ribbon. people could trace them to you if they get a good enough look."

"Wha-" Blake's eyes widened a little, glancing at her nearby teammates. In a hushed voice, she reasoned. "I mean, sure it's hiding my… ears, but it's such a small thing…"

"They might still link it to you," Luna repeated firmly. "Besides, isn't it better if you told your teammates now, in a semi-calm environment, rather than later when they inevitably find out?"

"I… they…" Blake was flustered, scared even, she knew how Weiss would react, at the very least, and was absolutely terrified of how the others would react.

Luna gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Blake… Look at me. It'll be fine. They know you, your personality. They're your teammates, your friends. How could they turn against someone they've accepted as one of their own?"

Blake exhaled forcefully. "So I just break it to them…." Her hands trembling slightly, she undid the ribbon, letting it drift lazily to the floor of the Bullhead

Yang was the first to notice. "Hey… Blake… Your bow… it's gone. Huh. You're a faunus? That's cool."

"They're so adorable!" Ruby spoke up, squeeing slightly and putting her fists against her mouth to quiet herself. "I wanna pet…"

Blake smiled in mild surprise at the easygoing responses, but it was what Weiss said next that shocked her the most. "Hmm… I suppose that explains why you like tuna so much."

Blake almost laughed out loud - in part because of the ridiculous comments, and in part due to her own nerves almost betraying her.

"H-hey, Ruby…" Yang's uncomfortable tone prompted Blake to turn around. Behind her, a hungry-eyed Ruby gave only an instant for Blake to react, not enough time, even for her.

" _KITTEEEHHHH!_ "

"Ruby, no-!" Yang rushed to stop the inevitable glomp, but arrived too late. As Ruby's hands came down on Blake's head, Blake instinctively gave a feline-like cry. "Nyahaaa~!"

 _WHUMPH._

Yang stared at the fallen Blake, purring with an 'I-am-not-amused' look on her face, then glanced at Weiss in amusement. "Did she just…?"

Weiss placed a hand delicately over her face, shaking her head. "Yes… Yes I believe she did."

Yang laughed. "Beautiful."

"Kitty~" Ruby cooed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Twisted ~ Okay, guys, so anyone here who has read my other shit should understand how I roll for stuff like this. For those who aren't, I am very, very grim. (Get it?) After this, we'll have humor for a while before more plot. Rinse and repeat. If you only want funny stuff, skip this with my apologies.**

 **Mika~ This story is equal parts funny and serious. This is one of the serious chapters. Notice, though- If you skip this chapter, the next chapter may not make as much sense to you.**

 **Twisted~ Gonna be rather brief with the violence, because I don't wanna get too dark here. And that's… Kind of a thing, for me, with combat scenes. Normally, I'm bloody, detailed and cruel in them and I don't want that here, so the scenes may be a bit bare for that reason.**

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The White Fang, contrary to many opinions and in spite of many efforts to rectify it by members, is not any form of private military organization and is scarcely organized enough to even be called an 'organization.'All protests and even attacks made by the Fang don't so much base themselves on full tilt, military ranked planning from high echelons of command as much as individual cells and groups generally do as they wish, with permission from the three, unknown, leaders of the entire group. Protests, letters of protest, and protests themselves are typically all okayed and coordinated by the same individuals who bomb buildings or steal supplies. In some cases, someone considered a lieutenant by one group has no rank at all with another. This is almost always the case, though attaining rank within other disparate groups or the central structure tends to result in recognition from most if not all groups.

Spectres, however, are the blacker side of even the more extreme factions of the White Fang's circles of killers, thieves and black-hearts. They originated in the far-flung founding days of the White Fang, after the last Human-Faunus war two hundred years before. So many highly trained soldiers had fought for so long to protect the rights of their fellows, that in fear of that failing they founded a separate group called the Spectres. These men and women were the blades that served as shields during those days, and continued to kill Humans that would seek a return to the prior , for decades. No one knows precisely when they combined with the White Fang, or if they were ever really even their own entity, but they had been killing enemies of the Fang since its inception. Spectres were the only recognised officers of the White Fang, and answered only to the Council.

Light plated chest, graves and boots - for a touch of protection, without a large loss to mobility - with the Fang symbol on his chest and back, as well as on the cloak that covered half the back and front, covering the left arm entirely, for a ranger-esque look. Hanging from the black belt were two short swords, though 'sword' was perhaps not fully accurate, as the katana-like blades had two functions aside from their regular blade forms. What looked like a Grimm mask, as many Fang members wore, sat on the lower half of their faces and combined with two monocles that merged to form a tactical set, and gave the face a menacing look if he engaged that particular look. Underneath the white armor plates and cloak was a padded, black suit that covered his entire frame, so that he looked almost like a shadow dwelling inside his armor.

And Jaune was being disguised as one of these terrifying soldiers… The reason was obvious enough when someone thought about it, he was the best pure swordsman they had aside from Pyrrha and Blake. And one was on support while the other he had beaten in a fight, leaving him in the role. So he sighed anxiously, slipping the mask into place properly, and turning for the door to where the others were waiting.

The door opened, and Weiss and Blake froze on the spot, spotting Jaune in his brand-new uniform and almost instinctively freezing - as though a predator had spotted them. A moment of pure panic formed on both of their faces, before he turned his head to look at them. "What?" Jaune asked innocently, smiling lightly behind his mask as if he wasn't wearing a Spectre's uniform. "Too much?"

"It looks good on you, Jaune." " **Damn, that is a great look on him... Maybe I should give the outfit to the redhead? She seems to be enjoying it."** Luna supplied helpfully, putting on her beret and adjusting her own outfit to fit better. Her uniform was a lot more sparse than Jaune's, consisting of a pair of grey pants and an open, white trenchcoat over a grey t-shirt and the aforementioned beret. The collar of the beret, the back of her trenchcoat, and a grey armband all held the symbol of the White Fang. Her own personal weapon, a pistol katana designed much like Blake's Gambol Shroud save level with her blade and solid in construction, lay in her sheathe at her hip comfortably. "You can certainly pull off the look properly, straighten your shoulders a bit though. Be more rigid. Remember- you are a Spectre, so act like one. Be intimidating."

"We got a problem!" The pilot said as the bullhead pulled to the side, a few pangs and pings of bullets against steel sounding out loudly as they impacted against the armor ominously. "No idea what's wrong, Miss Schnee, but there's some heavy combat all around the landing area. Orders?"

"Just… Circle around for a moment, look for Flare." Weiss said quickly, biting her lip anxiously, " **Shit… We were supposed to infiltrate, not attack."** "What do we do now?"

"Same plan as before, except now Yang gets to punch people if she wants." Jaune spoke confidently, forcing his nerves to calm and popping his neck," Weiss, you, Pyrrha and Ruby support from up here in the Bullhead. Keep circling and shooting at a good

. distance, Blake you and I are going to go in and get Flare and any men of hers still alive out of there."

Their bullhead circled around the ruined pyramid, steel scaffolding surrounding it and funneling into the pyramid itself. Most likely, something was inside the pyramid. Something the White Fang wanted enough for a full frontal fight, their base… Who knew.

"But Jaune, what about-"

"Shoot them, stab them, do whatever you need to. I understand if you try not to kill any of them, or don't participate at all, but I am not leaving my sister behind, Ruby." Jaune gave her a level look from behind his mask and felt a spark of guilt when she flinched, only remembering a moment later that he was likely terrifying to her. "Sorry. forgot about the uniform." Sighing anxiously, he punched the button to open the door - ignoring the whipping wind - and stepped out of the craft, falling twenty or so feet and rolling across the ground. Two Faunus in their uniforms flinched when he rolled to a stop next to them, and he gave them a level look," Are you an ally of Flare's?"

"Y-Yes!" One barked in fright, giving the apparent Spectre a terrified look and tightening her grip on her weapon," W-What about you?" " **Please be friendly… I can't handle a Spectre…"**

"I am her friend as well. Where is she? I intend to cut a way to her and extract her, so you may all retreat from this place." Jaune had honestly never met or spoken to a Spectre, but judging from the relief the two grunts were showing he assumed he'd fooled them. Their thoughts reflected as much, and one pulled a small black walky off his belt and spoke into it for a moment.

"She's deeper in the ruins, past the Lab. She said something about a weapon she needs to destroy. Told her you're on your way though, we'll try and help you get in. Those your friends?" Jaune looked behind him, two females dropping and stumbling slightly before jogging towards him.

"Yes, suppress the enemy positions for them." The two nodded, leaning out from behind the low piece of broken stone and peppering automatic fire in various alternating directions, and Jaune turned to them happily, though he disguised it well enough," Take a moment to catch your breaths, these two shall lead us into the ruins to get to Flare. Then we find somewhere the Bullhead can land and get out of here."

"Sounds good, I guess." " **Five minutes in and it's already going bad… Fuck."** Blake muttered nervously, adjusting her grip on her rifle and Jaune watched her ears twitch with each sound across the large clearing surrounding the old pyramid. "Let's get going then, get this over with."

Jaune nodded, turning and tapping the female Fang member's shoulder to indicate their readiness. A moment later, the group took off at a sprint towards a hole in the wall of the ruined pyramid. Jaune led the way, playing his part as a Spectre well, and laid open the back of an enemy Fang soldier as they ran, wincing at the dying woman's thoughts and wincing again when he removed the arm of a man who turned and slashed at him in anger, his right blade singing through the metal of the man's sword as well as his flesh and bone with no effort.

A moment later they leapt into the hole in the wall, bullets bouncing off the rocks around them, and Jaune grimaced when one of the two Fang soldiers helping him turned around to add his own rounds into the fray and caught a bullet that tore his throat open. Jaune turned his head to avoid hearing his particularly mournful thoughts, and looked at Yang worriedly. "You alright, Leo?" It took a moment for her to realize he meant her, and she jumped slightly before nodding and Jaune noted that her rifle hadn't been fired yet," I know this is your first real combat experience, but Bell can tell you that this comes with the territory."

"But…" " **You killed those people… How many more are dying?"** Jaune sighed again, hating this mission, and started walking down the hall past her," I just…"

"I get it." Jaune paused for a moment," Tell Hood and Princess to pull our ride back, away from the fighting so they don't have to dirty their hands as well. I would prefer not to take Hood's innocence of the world."

"Y-Yeah, thanks." Yang turned to the side, grabbing her Scroll from a pocket on her more than roomy enough chest area and typing out a message as they walked, and Blake gave him a curious look.

"You seem all too… calm about this, Knight." " **...Please, don't be like Adam. I can't handle that bloodlust again."** Jaune thought for several seconds as they walked, trying to find the proper words to phrase what he wanted to say.

"These people are unfortunate, and I don't want them dead. But if I have to kill them to save Flare and protect you and Leo, I will do so. While I am unhappy to take these lives, this is part of our duties. Our lives will not be the romantic tales children are told, not all the time." he gave her a heavy look, eye-pieces folding away to show his eyes," For now, we must do what must be done. Or rather, I must. Hopefully, none of you have to kill anyone."

" **W-wow… He** _**Is**_ **Takashi… gentleman and all."** "I… Well, you're right I suppose. I just wish things could have gone the way we intended, rather than the way they have." She turned, a small smile showing on the open bottom of her mask," Thank you, though. What you said was… Sweet."

"I try. Now come on, these guys can hold up here, let's get to Flare and get the hell out of here." She nodded, and the trio started jogging further into the old, overgrown ruin. Deep inside the ruins was a rather advanced looking lab, if a small one, connecting to what looked like a tomb of sorts, a plastic barrier connecting the tomb to a series of computers, clear boxes, and other scientific tools and equipment via multiple long pipes.

As they entered the lab, watching several masked Faunus placing small boxes all around the area, they saw Flare, giving off orders. As she turned, her hand tightened in instinctive fear, seeing the spectre, before she smelled something familiar and smiled. "Jaune. I wasn't expecting you here. Expecially as a Spectre."

"We came to get you out, Sis. Me, Bell, Leo, and Luna. Planned on making it a bit more stealthy though… That didn't quite pan out, as you've probably figured out." Jaune rolled his shoulder to ease some tension in it, looking at his sister brightly and ignoring the fearful and odd looks from the Faunus around him easily enough.

"Ah. Everyone, listen up! This here is my brother and his friends. Human or not, they should get respect, 'cuz they're here to help!" She yelled aloud, the Faunus catching her words. "Sorry, we found out that we're making a biological weapon. I wanna make sure it's gone before we go. Can you manage that? We're kinda low on manpower for the moment. Managed to get ourselves inside, but now we've got enemies inside and outside. We need to fend off any potential counter- Shit!"

As she finished speaking, a round tore through the glass, hitting nothing as Flare dove out of the way and the firefight began anew. Most of the Fang uniformed Faunus slid forward, peering around the only entrance to the lab and firing bursts back up the hall, to force them back hopefully. One of them swore, and Blake leapt away from the entrance as a grenade flew through the door from a launcher and smashed into the back of the lab, exploding violently. A split second later, some shells, loaded with whatever they were researching, exploded, sending silvery gas all over the place.

As Jaune coughed, trying to get the lingering silvery mist and dust out of his face, he heard a loud hiss of pain and turned when he realized it was Blake, staggering upright and clutching her leg. Turning, he saw a quartet of enemy Fang soldiers rush through the door, one shoving the brunette roughly off her feet. Had she been carrying Gambol Shroud, she'd have been fine. But she wasn't, and that left her open, receiving a vicious slash across her arm and crying out, trying to crawl backwards across the floor.

Time froze as Jaune saw Blake get knocked down, and the enraged Faunus bringing his bloodied sword to stab her a second time, this one aiming for her chest as opposed to her bloodied leg. Jaune felt anger. Pure, unbridled anger at the Faunus who would dare hurt his friend. As he unsheathed his sword, the sword's sides separated and the edge split, and the sound of gunfire was drowned out by the terrifying sound of a chainsaw running at full speed. The most terrifying function of his weapon was that when he engaged the feature, the blades would segment and begin rotating rapidly in a loop around a central pole that was normally hidden within the otherwise unremarkable blade, turning the blade into a high-power, high impact single-edged chainsaw.

The Faunus had a second to comprehend his mistake before the chainsaw impacted his sword, biting into the cheaper steel and shattering it with little effort. And then the blade continued, biting through armor, cloth, flesh, and finally bone, and continuing to bite through all the same, without ever once slowing.

Jaune froze as he looked at his sword, and then at his hands. He had killed people without even hesitating for a moment. He was a monster-

"It was kill or be killed, Jaune." he heard Flare say gently, putting her hand on his shoulder and turning him to face Blake, who was struggling to get up. "Because of you, she can do that. She isn't dead on the ground because you killed that man. Did you enjoy it?"

"No…"

"That's good. Keep that. Killing is a duty, not a pleasure. That's what separates us and the Grimm." Flare had always been the smart one, and typically kept her cool easily in normally rough situations like this.

He nodded, speaking aloud. "Bell, Get going, I'll catch up." He ignored her protest, stepping forward towards the trio of Fang soldiers rushing to catch up with them, in a clear effort to stop their escape. The fog around them was thick, thick enough that it kept visibility low. "How many have you lost, Flare?"

Flare sighed, lifting her revolver and firing a shot into a White Fang grunt. "Four." Next to her, one of her men coughed up blood as a round hit his chest, forcing him to stumble back a step.

"Silverclaw!" Flare yelled as she took cover, just as Silverclaw took cover himself, putting a finger to his wound. Jaune and Blake took cover themselves, but both could see what happened next. Silverclaw, a wolf faunus, jumped over his cover and began to run, putting his thumbs in the multiple grenades strapped to his chest. As he hit the enemy, he pulled the pins, ten of them priming at the same time as he trailed his thumb down, pulling out each pin in a fluid movement and grabbing the nearest White Fang member.

Jaune flinched when he heard the boom, the loudest explosion he had heard in his relatively short, and he was partners with Nora. In the corner of his eye, he saw Flare, wringing her hat in her hands, tears running down her face as she temporarily lost composure. The silvery mist was rolling down the halls and out into the forest wherever it could escape, carrying whatever it was designed to carry, Whatever it was, it hadn't hurt them yet.

"Bullhead's here, get to it!"

Jaune was the last to arrive, the silvery mist snaking it's way into the bullhead and up into the open bay. He heard a gasp of pain and turned, seeing Blake on the ground grabbing her stomach, her wound bleeding heavily. she gave a small scream as a bullet, fired by a White Fang member, bit into her side, sending a long, narrow trail across it, through the soft, fatty flesh beneath the skin and back out to ping off the Bullhead loudly. A flesh wound, but flesh wounds were more painful than regular wounds usually. Yang had taken hits as well, so had he, but they were both better protected - Yang by her Aura, and he by his borrowed armor - than Blake.

Drawing his second blade, he stepped toward them menacingly and laughed when they flinched. He could feel the boiling in his blood, the absolute anger and rage, and he voiced it in a low, menacing tone," You hurt my friend." And then he blacked out, just as the blade tore into the White Fang soldier's chest viciously, finally succumbing to the strange fogginess clawing at his mind.

Jaune woke up with a groan, feeling himself getting pushed down onto a quite frankly comfortable bed. "I suggest you lie down, Mr. Arc. You've been feverish for two days, and shouldn't' be up and about yet."

"What? What happened?" He rubbed his forehead, trying to push a strange headache away and avoiding looking at the incredibly bright lights. Had they always been that bright?

"Well, Mr. Arc… You seem to have caught an engineered form of a nearly-extinct virus. 'Nearly' meaning extinct outside a few tombs where it can be found. You're lucky. We can cure the Faunus Retro-Morphus Virus, given enough time to study it. We already know a potential cure, but from the blood samples… It looks engineered, and you're unlucky in that it might be incurable. Now, if you excuse me, Luna asked that I tell you that Flare wanted you to have a few things." The speaker, Kitana Vulpes, was, unknown to Jaune, Luna's partner and confidant, mostly because they were the sole fox fauna that worked in Beacon. And as she stood up, she picked up a few items, setting them down on the bed. A note, and a single chainsword, polished to a shine and with a pink bow on it. Rolling his eyes, he opened the note, reading it's contents.

" _Jaune- My new number's right here. Hope you like the sword! Sorry you turned into a faunus. If it helps, I sprouted a tail myself. ...More seriously, I have a request. I have drunk whiskeys, Sherries, beers, wines, and soda. I can't do my mourning without Silverclaw's drink, but it's Ginger Ale. You know how I get with Ginge. So… can you buy a bottle and drink it for me? I'd have Adam do it, but he's thinking up someway to leave."_

Jaune reached up, his hands running across his head and feeling two fox ears sticking out, impossible to hide especially with the tail that he could see. Makes sense he'd be a fox, it was in his genes after all, Jaune pulled out his scroll, as he had promised to call his mother after the mission. "Hello? Who is this." He heard his mom's voice answer. What time would it be there- seven in the morning, give or take? "Jaune? Are you alright?"

"Hey, Mom. Sorry I'm late, something came up and I couldn't call immediately." He smiled at her worry, she always did fret over them needlessly. Though maybe this time made a bit more sense, given everything that had occurred.

"Jaune! I was so worried when you didn't call! Wait… What do you mean something came up?" Fretting almost immediately, as was her way, and his smile only grew.

"Well…" he began, thinking of how to phrase it. "I'm a faunus now. One with Rouge's, like Luna, Nyx, and you. Also, Flare is out of the White Fang and ALSO has Rouge's. It's… weird, ask Luna about it, she can tell you more. Probably."

"...What did she do, how did it involve Flare, and why are you all Faunus! With Rouge's! What the fuck happened!" His mother rarely, if ever, swore, and only did so when she felt she had very just cause or was completely shocked, as she was now. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, just tell me what happened."

"Well… It started when Luna came to me a few days ago…"

In another room, Weiss Schnee woke up, in an unfamiliar bed. She got up slowly, memories of the mission piecing themselves together. as she looked down at herself. Two hands with five fingers each, two feet with five toes each, a tail…

Weiss stopped and stared at the tail. Reaching down, she gripped it, harshly tugging. The pain that blossomed in her spine felt like she was trying to pull off her own arm. As she ran a hand through her head, sure that it was just a hallucination or a dream, she felt a fluffy ear. A rising panic took place in her as she found a hand mirror, looking into it. Two cat ears, larger and more visible than Blake's poked inquisitively out of her hair, white-furred and with a skin-toned inner ear.

Several thousand miles and one ocean away, Mr. Siegfried Schnee, owner of the Schnee Dust Company and proud father of two girls, though he was always working and never got to see either of them, almost spilled his coffee as he heard a scream in the distance. "Was that Weiss?"

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Mika~ Now, I know what you're thinking. "A virus transformed them into faunus? Impossible/BS!" Well, I'd like to mention two types of viruses in particular. One is AIDS, which hijacks a person's immune system and weakens it, allowing for other viruses to take hold. Another is a slew of viruses, which can be found under "Viral Transformation" in Wikipedia. Any other questions I can think of, such as how it works/what it is/whether or not it's curable will be answered in the next chapter. Also- nope, it isn't an STD.**

 **Twisted~ There are also viruses like a certain fungus that transform and rewire the host entirely, often killing it after making massive, radical changes. The fungus I mention inspired The Last of Us, and actually works much like it is show to in the game. Also, a note on the OCs, with the sheer number we have gotten - I've received about twenty five at this point - we won't be able to use all of them here. I can however, if you want, use the characters in other stories of mine. If you're sent me or Mika an OC, send a second message stating it is okay to use it elsewhere as well.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Twisted ~ So, problem. I have gotten many-a-message from certain people (you know who you are, I needn't name names) regarding lemons and the desire of said people for them to be a thing. Now, we have a problem. Because I am an asexual sociopathic twat, and Mika is a highly perverted bisexual virgin. What do you expect us to do, watch porn for two days and play guessing games? So, sorry, but we can't pull it off.**

 **Mika~ I mean, I can BS my way through a lemon, but it'll probably be terrible.**

 **Twisted~ I know any I tried to make would be.**

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"How could this have happened?!" Weiss moaned, putting her head in her hands as her ears twitched cutely in irritation. "This… This is ludicrous! Scandalous! Unfair!" " **A Schnee can never look like this… Never be seen this way… "**

"Must've been that gas." Yang said, her own lioness ears twitching as she trailed her fingers through her tail, smiling slightly at the nice sensations from it. Blake half-heartedly moved to sit next to her, slapping her hand to stop her stroking her sensitive tail. " **Aww. That felt fun."**

"Well I like it! My tail is soft and cute, and I can hear so much stuff now! And things smell so nice!" Ruby said, her fluffy wolf tail wagging as she scratched behind her own ears. " **It feels so gooddd~… I'm hungry!"**

Blake was silent as she stroked her brand-new tail for a moment to acclimate to the new limb, her purple ears matching everyone else's in size and now nearly impossible to hide twitching on top of her head. " **I can't hide anymore... Why do I feel so… happy?"**

"I must concur. It does feel… Fitting in a way, I suppose." Pyrrha supplied helpfully, the size of her rabbit ears not matching her fist-sized cottonball of a tail, the former around Velvet's own size and the latter merely able to fit in a hand. " **I… Think I'm a rabbit. How grand. I wonder if Jaune likes rabbits?"** She raised an eyebrow at him primly, and he nodded ever so slightly. " **Good…"**

"We're fluffy, Ren! Look! I'm fluffy! I'm hungry, I want a carrot! Ooh! Can you make pancakes Ren-Ren?" Nora cheered, the size of her rabbit ears not matching her fist-sized cottonball of a tail, the former around Velvet's own size and the latter half the size of her hand. Experimentally, she twitched her tail and the small cotton ball wiggled slightly in response," It moves!" " **Ren will definitely enjoy this."**

"I noticed, Nora." Ren said, his own dog ears alert and tail still, if he looked aggravated and unamused. " **Why did she have to be so adorable? Damn it… My weakness..."**

Luna entered the room, looking at papers in her hands and looking herself slightly disheveled and worn out. "Alright boys and girls, I have good news and bad news. What do you want first?" " **Well, good news from a certain point of view..."**

"Let's have the good news first." Jaune spoke up helpfully, his fox ears twitching to greet Luna.

"Good news, we know what it is and it might be curable." The room gave a sigh as relief was generally felt by all. "Bad news… The traditional cure failed, so we have to study it. From scratch. We've got two months before a cure can be made. Six at the latest, and yes these are all estimates." And then it was smashed immediately, and most of their faces fell. " **Sucks I have to do this..."**

"You mean we…" Blake realized, wide eyed and anxiety filled. " **I'm stuck like this?"**

"Yeah. You're stuck like this until we can figure it out." Luna shrugged, frowning lightly. " **Thankfully, we know that the base disease is curable."**

"I know! I'll just cut them off! We can hire the best doctors to do it. Nobody will know!" Weiss said, an idea blooming in her head.

"I wouldn't recommend that, Miss Schnee." Luna said quickly, stopping her in her tracks. "Your genes themselves have triggered your faunus traits, so your Aura would just rebuild them over time. Add the fact that your blood identifies you as Faunus. In addition to that… five major blood vessels run through your tail and ears, two in your ears and three in your tail. You would bleed to death in less than two minutes if you severed them incorrectly. I am almost a hundred percent sure that a human doctor would not be aware of the requirements for a Faunus surgery. Mostly because they are not, according to themselves, 'Vets.' Leaving most Faunus doctors being paid far less for more advanced surgeries." Weiss blanched at that simple but effective answer, silent as she pondered that last line.

"So, how do we fix this, then." Jaune asked, leaning forwards slightly. "Honestly, I am perfectly okay with the new attachments. Was always jealous of you guys, felt like an outsider because I was different."

"Aww, that's sweet. Little browther wants to be like his sisters." Luna said teasingly, obviously a form of coping for her."Quite simply… we don't know, for now."

Those three words floored them. "So… What do we do now?" Yang asked forlornly, trying to stroke her tail once again and being thwacked by Blake. " **Really? You're petting yours, I wanna pet mine!"**

"You wait for a cure to be discovered. Or you get used to your new bodies. Either way, it's your call." Luna shrugged, smiling half-heartedly," It's really not so bad, you get all the advantages a Faunus has. Because, congrats, all you have to do now to be considered Fauna is to change the registry." " **Faunus lyfe, woot-woot."**

"So… What is it?" Jaune asked, already developing a headache from the girls' antics and anxieties. He seriously needed to start predicting where the hell everyone would sit so he wasn't sitting across from most of them, aside from Pyrrha who always insisted on sitting beside him.

"The virus is called Faunus Retro-Morphus. It hijacks the Aura of a subject and subtly tricks the Aura into thinking that the victim's body is a Rouge's inflicted Faunus, like myself." Luna pointed at her ears and tail as she continued. "While the body is reconfiguring itself, the Aura is focused on building the new structures. The immune system is running at a lowered rate as well, adapting itself to accommodate three new limbs. Because of that, the virus can breed inside the body. Eventually, though, the newly-made Faunus's aura will finish the changes as the immune system fights the virus, leading to most of the virus dying by the Aura's now triggered defenses. However… The White Fang seem to have made it even more potent. Less of the virus is required, it's stronger, it is in the air, water, blood, and animal borne, and it is expelled through victims, leading to more infected... It's actually an ingenious design."

"What makes you say that? It made us Faunus! I look disgusting, damn it!" Weiss hissed in displeasure. Blake leveled a small glare at Weiss, who shrunk, ashamed. "I didn't mean it… Not that way, I just…"

"I never said it was good or even moral, just ingenious. Originally, all the White Fang wanted was Faunus Rights. With this, they would have gotten it. Without further blood being spilled, even." Luna explained, saving the heiress from the issue she'd blundered into. "Well, anyways, you are all dismissed. You aren't contagious, and you are all perfectly healthy Faunus. And besides, Miss Schnee- In my personal opinion, you look quite adorable." " **Look at those little ears! You're like a kitten! A white, angsty kitten!"** Weiss sputtered in indignation as she registered what Luna said, blushing brightly and glaring at her.

"Then I think we need to go and speak to Ozpin, see what he thinks we can do about classes. Maybe we could make an announcement about what happened or something." Jaune shook himself, hopping up from his seat on the bed on the large medical facilities of Beacon," So, anyone want to go grab food?"

"I would rather head back to our dorm and get some sleep. Frankly, I am exhausted and would very much like to sleep." Ren sighed, standing up, and Nora got up to follow behind him excitedly. Jaune, curious, turned to look at the back of Ren's head as he left, " **So done. Gonna get some rabbit tail before they get back…"**

Jaune snickered for a half-second after the door closed, and Pyrrha gave him an odd look that he waved off, watching Weiss stand up as well," I… Need to go, call my father. I'm going to see about getting him to devote SDC resources to this, I'm sure he'll do so… Blake, could you please come with me. I need… Advice." " **Might as well learn how to live with this in the meantime..."**

"Yeah, uh, sure. I guess. I know a way to get back to our dorm unseen, if you don't mind going across the roofs overmuch." " **Don't want to be found like this just yet..."** The two girls were the next to leave, with only Jaune, Ruby, Pyrrha - of course - Luna and Yang. They fell into a mildly awkward silence for several moments until Luna's Scroll beeped loudly and annoyingly and she had to depart.

"I'm hungry, Yang." Ruby whined quietly, and Jaune smiled warmly at her, before moving towards the door. "I want some pizza, can we go get some pizza?" He supposed her energy likely owed somewhat to her own nature, and the influence of her Faunus nature.

"Let's go grab some pizza, guys. No chocolate though, Ruby, it'll get you very, very sick now. Well, maybe, I dunno, depends on how much your canine half affects your dietary abilities." He sighed when the girl pouted, hearing her forlorn thoughts, " **Cookies…"** "You can have some cookies though, I'll ask my mom tonight about it and see what you can eat."

"Yay!"

Jaune smiled and watched her run out of the room, hanging a hard right to head towards the cafeteria to see if they still had anything to eat from earlier, and Yang was hot on her heels. He was about to follow them when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to a grinning Pyrrha, "So you like bunny girls? I might just keep the changes then." " **And make a few purchases..."**

"I really do. They're cute and sexy at the same time. Always been a… thing with me. The tail especially. Heh, at least one faunus type is a thing for most guys." Jaune said honestly, comfortable enough with Pyrrha by now to talk about this. And still mildly out of his head from whatever the changes to his physiology had done to his psychology.

"So… Any advice from a newly fledged bunny? Or are you just going by theories?" " **Good, be honest, I like it. Need the notes in any event."** She smiled, ears twitching and tail shaking happily.

"Little bit of both. Know how to be a faunus because of my sisters, but I have no idea how it's going to go myself. Anyways, our room's going to be...Indisposed for a while… Wanna go sneak out and grab some coffee? I know a nice place that serves Fauna. Owner's wife is one, so they don't discriminate." Jaune paused for a moment," Uh, don't eat anything with cinnamon in it. I think that's bad for rabbits."

"What do you mean, 'indisposed'? Are they alright or…?" Pyrrha asked curiously, tail continuing to shake in excitement. " **We're going on a date... "**

Jaune thought hard, trying to figure out some way to phrase it without sounding overly perverted, that was generally Pyrrha's job. "Ren's going to hunt a wabbit, that's all."

Pyrrha seemed to think, then blushed as she realized what Jaune was implying and smiled coyly. "Nora and Ren? They're..." " **Fucking like rabbits, aren't they?"**

"Yep. Well, if Ren has his way about it they are, at least. Nora's a bunny now and that's a thing for Ren, and his new instincts are probably messing with his head."

"Right now?"

"Close enough."

"I'd love to get some coffee." Pyrrha answered instantly before smiling. "Unless you have a thing for bunnies and new instincts…?" " **Let's leave the lovebirds alone for a while, maybe Foxie wants to catch himself a red-haired hare?"**

"Nope! Not right now, Pyr!" She sighed in an overly dramatic way and he marched right past her, out the door, and hung a sharp right to head toward the Bullhead launch areas.

The two had gotten their tables with little fuss once Jaune had explained what had happened to him, leading the owner, Oak, to grant him a discount. Pyrrha sipped her tea, savoring the surprisingly new and refreshing taste. Jaune was equally immersed in his coffee, drinking it dry. "Aqua. A refill and a question, please."

Aqua, a wolf faunus, head waitress, and the proud co-owner of this restaurant/bar, the Wolves' Den, smiled as she walked over to Jaune, filling up his coffee. "What is the question about?" Aqua said, focusing on his brand-new faunus features. "Fauna question?" " **Must be asking for himself or a friend."**

"Yeah, for a friend. Just a question- Can Wolf Faunus eat chocolate?" Jaune said simply. "I know Fox Faunus can."

"It varies. Some are allergic. Start out with a simple dark chocolate piece. If they can eat that without having any problems, give them a bigger and bigger peice. If they can eat an entire bar over time without hives, rashes, or an allergic reaction, yes. If they have an allergic reaction, no. Faunus are human enough that it is only fatal in the worst of cases, unlike dogs and wolves." Aqua answered with a smile. " **That usually works. Hope Beacon has a infirmary if the Faunus is allergic..."**

"The loss of the FRM virus is a minor setback. It can be replaced. Oroboros will continue as planned. They did not find the true prize."

"What about the humans and Faunus who destroyed it?"

"If they interfere, stop them. Otherwise, we do nothing."

"What about Lieutenant Arc?"

"The Lieutenant died during the Schnee assault. No more, no less. Reports of a lookalike in Vacuo is merely a coincidence and warrants no further investigation."

"Yes sir."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Mika~ So, a guest left a review. The first part does not matter, the second does.** " _ **What bothers me though is Weiss becoming a Faunus. I understand the how it happened (bioweapon) and the why (it got onto the bullhead), but I dont understand the other why. Why Weiss? There were other characters that were human, including Yang that was actually there with Jaune. Why did you choose to end with Weiss?"**_ **Simple answer… The Luls and the character development. Her character arc has occurred offscreen, But the Docks have not happened yet. She was still just as prejudiced against faunus as before. Now? Canon has bent a few times. This is the point where it breaks. Canon's not going to be the exact same thing, but the Wheels of Fate keep turning and the Butterfly Effect is going strong…**

 **Also- Yes. There will be a cure. Eventually.**

 **Twisted~ But Mikaaaaaaa, I don't wanna cure them.**

 **Mika~ Don't worry, Twist. I has a secret sheet of those who are gonna stay faunus/return to human!**

 **Twisted~ Nora is staying bunny? I think Ren likes the little fluffy tail.**

 **Mika~ No cheating.**

 **Twisted~ B-But…..**

 **Mika~ Shhh… Let the readers guess. And they will. Like puppets on a string, never realizing that the puppeteer is about to cut their- Owie…**

 **Twisted~ That's why we don't be teases, Mika-chan-senpai-sama. We punish mad scientist girls~**

 **Mika~ Was the newspaper necessary?**

 **Twisted ~ You *are* a fox, so I thumped you. Is normal.**

 **Mika~ Meanie. And aren't you older than me?**

 **Twisted~ Yep. So what?**

 **Mika~... Sempai! *glomps***

 **Twisted~ Hng!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Twisted~ Me no sempai…**

 **Mika~ Sempai-!**

 **Twisted~ Nu!**

 **Mika~ Yes!**

 **Twisted~ I say nu!**

 **Mika~ I say yes!**

 **Twisted~ They're shipping us!**

 **Mika~ Oh dear god no. Nope. Nope, all my nope.**

 **Twisted~ Well that's mean~**

 **Mika~ Mean or not, It's true. Me and twisted have a very casual working relationship. And debate relationship. Truely, we're just friends, and new ones at that.**

 **Twisted~ Yup! Though they will still ship it regardless. Also, Mika, are we asking for someone to halp with lemons if we do them?**

 **Mika~ Yep. Just be aware- We will be the ones asking.**

 **PLAYER 3 HAS ENTERED THE BATTLEFIELD!**

 **Ninjawaffle~ ...And screw that. I will be a wise and fair lemon-ruler.**

 **Twisted~ Shieeeeeeeeet!**

 **Ninjawaffle~ Kay, so technically I've been lurking and editing here for a while. An insane tape-duck-and-lube plan here, an incident with an aphrodisiac flower there… Thought it was time to start the official posting. AND SO- *Presses big yellow button* BEGIN THE LEMON REVOLUTION!**

 **Mika~ ...Maybe I should prep my** _ **Ōka?**_

 **Twisted~ Haaaaaaaalp**

 **Ninjawaffle~ Ssssshhh… no tears, now. Just lemons.**

 **Twisted~ But-**

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **Beacon Infirmary**_

"Luna, how long has it been since you slept?" Kit asked, looking at Luna as she seemed to fall asleep and wake up every twenty seconds or so.

"Depends… Is today Tuesday? because I slept… Sunday. "

Kit smiled at Luna's drive, placing a gentle hand on Luna's shoulders. "Luna. Get some rest. Today's Friday."

Luna shook her head, partly to shake herself awake. "Have to… finish… these tests. Then it'll sleep."

"Uh, Luna?" Kit laughed, "Do you normally refer to yourself as 'it'?"

"I just… my tongue slipped... I can still work, mom…" Luna groaned, fingers fumbling for a pen. Kit moved her hand to cover Luna's, forcing her to stop working.

"Mom says you need rest Luna. You can finish this later, okay?"

"Mmmn…" Luna gave a weak, exhausted moan. "Fine… just 15 minutes… Can you tuck me in mom?" Kit had to muffle a chuckle at Luna's complete lack of awareness. Even as she did, Luna's head touched down on the papers before her with a small _thump_. The sound of slow, heavy breathing told Kit that her friend was going to be as unwakeable as a stump for a good long while.

Kit, with a careful, quiet movement, easily lifted Luna out of her seat, ferrying her to the cozy confines of her warm mattress. "Absolutely." Kit whispered with a coy smile, placing Luna between the sheets. "Anything you need, Luna..." She leaned in close, trying not to disturb her sleeping charge further. "...And then some." Kit's lips touched Luna's brow, lingering a while longer and just with a little bit more affection than a generic goodnight kiss should.

A thump as someone hit the doorway behind her caused Kit to snap upright, spinning as a feverish red spread across her face. She saw Jaune's face, glancing briefly at his eyes before looking at the wall behind him. "J-Jaune. What are you…" As she felt his accusing gaze, her temper flared in embarrassment. "I… I thought she had a rash on her face. I was making sure, okay? It wasn't anything. So," Kit forced herself to glare at Jaune. "What do you want? I'm on my way out." " **Damn… killed any and all moments I could have had…"**

"Just wanted to check up on my sister. Thought she might have worn herself out."

"Yeah, she has. So focused on finding a cure for you guys that she passed out." " **...And scaring me in the process."**

"Yeah, that sounds like her. Always worrying..."

"Yeah." Kit said softly, looking at Luna with a long gaze. "She always seems to do this…" " **Doesn't she get that I worry about her every time?"**

"I suggest you talk to our Dad, by the way. Introduce yourself as Luna's girlfriend."

"I-I'm n-not her girlfriend!" " **Shit. He saw… I know he saw…"**

"Relax. I'm happy for her, to be honest. Not everyone would put her to bed, tuck her in, and give her a kiss goodnight."

"And I-" She stopped midway to her angry rant, looking at Jaune in surprise. "You… really?" " **I mean, what? He's okay with that?"**

"I honestly don't care as long as Luna's happy. There's other ways to have children."

Kit flushed, looking down in embarrassment. "I… It's not like I can just go up to her and say 'hey, here's the deal, love me'. It's more… complicated." " **And I reeeally don't want to kill what we already have, so…"** She took a few steps to the chair Luna used just a while ago, sitting down with an exhausted sigh. "I don't really know what I could say that isn't an outright confession that she could turn down…" Kit glanced up at Jaune, who watched her in amusement. She sputtered a little, trying to backtrack. "A-anyway, why do I need to talk to you about this? You're her brother… It's just weird."

"And as a brother, I need to look out for my sisters. I'm not going to lie, I'm a veteran when it comes to this stuff. You think I could have seven sisters and _not_ know what to do in these situations?" Jaune laughed, and Kit relaxed a bit. He pulled up a chair, sitting down before Kit and getting on her level to talk. "Look. You are a kind and compassionate person, and you've been looking out for her for a while now. She isn't going to sever all ties with you just because you confess to her. I know and you know; She isn't like that. If you come to her as honestly as possible and tell it like it is, I can almost guarantee you that she's not going to turn you down."

"Is it really that simple?" " **There's got to be more going on here. He's so damn sure of himself."**

"Of course. And once, Luna's best friend confessed to her. She decided that she would rather stay friends and let her down gently. Luna then started setting up dates for her. Today, she's a housewife with her husband and two children. A husband that Luna set her up with. They're still friends today."

"Ah. I see…" " **I don't know… I can't really imagine anyone other than Luna."**

Jaune sighed, trying to set her mind at ease. "Look. Right now the situation's stagnant. Do you want this hanging over your head forever, with my sister only approachable when she's lying unconscious in a bed? Or do you want to take the chance, however small it may be, that she's interested in you?"

"Well, when you say it like that… doesn't leave much room for argument, huh?" Kit laughed, but her inner turmoil was quite obvious. " **I really want to, Jaune… god Luna, you're torturing me and you don't even know it."**

"Please, Kit. Just try it. I think you two would make a good match. I can't see anyone better for the job at the moment."

"...Fine. You've convinced me. You'd better get to class. I'll talk to her when she wakes up." " **He's definitely related to her. So determined… It's refreshing to know that someone besides Lulu supports me."**

Jaune gave Luna a look, a smile appearing on his face as he turned and walked away to his class with Miss Goodwitch.

"Today, four teams will be participating in a simulation. One team, the Criminals, will be allowed to leave class early to plan out their crime. The other team, Police, will stay with me for dueling practice alongside spectators until the two hours have passed." Ms Goodwitch said, holding a filing folder tightly in her hands. "Mr Winchester, you are the commander of the Police. Team RWBY, you will assist. Mr Arc. You are the commander of the Criminals. Team JUCI, you will assist. For the record, inputting a unique weapon's exact look, size, weight, and potential uses takes several weeks of work. Work that can easily be circumvented by giving the participants preset weapons. So you will not be fighting using your typical weapons, so this lesson doubles as an exercise in your ability to fight without your own weapons."

"Ma'am?" She nodded at Jaune's raised hand, and he lowered it before speaking," Where will we be doing this test? And, uh, why are we playing cops and robbers? That… Doesn't seem too useful for future Hunters."

"Well, Mr. Arc, not every student will decide to be an expeditionary Hunter. Meaning that you go outside the walls to hunt down Grimm across the continents. Some decide to become defensive ones, protecting our walls and policing the citizens alongside the police department. We prepare our students for both eventualities, so they can be ready no matter what they choose to do in their lives." She paused for a moment, flipping open her folder and scanning it absentmindedly," As for the 'where', the system we'll be using is in a large room below the combat arena where you regularly practice. I have plenty of room to set up a sim for what we need." Glynda closed the folder, picking up one labeled 'Criminals' and handing it to Jaune. "You are dismissed for the next two hours. Doctor Vulpes will guide you to the simulation room a half-an-hour before we arrive to begin the simulation." " **If she isn't drunk or asleep- Never mind, she's awake and sober."**

Glynda nodded respectfully to Kit, who gave her and Jaune - more so on the latter than the former - a sheepish smile, and turned to address the remainder of the class. Kit simply gestured at the door, walking through it a moment with the two teams of students right behind her. "We're going downstairs to set up, though that'll take a bit. You can just hang out and chat amongst yourselves until we're ready if you like. Read the papers, plan... Do stuff." " **Hopefully Luna will stay asleep..."**

Kit gave them an unsure smile, heading deeper into the large room, obviously looking for someone, and Jaune sighed and looked around for somewhere to sit. The room they were in was a sort of waiting room, with chairs and tables scattered about it and plenty of room for any groups to find their own seats.

Jaune stood at the chair, setting the folder down and looking at the four other students sitting with him and his team, JUCI he first was a young man much like Jaune, though far more reserved in his actions and slightly taller at 6'5", his hands respectfully behind his back. His partner was a smaller girl named Umi, descended from or at least near the same easterners Ren seemed to hail from, though she seemed far less reserved and more impatient. The other duo was made up by the almost always shy Isabella, another human, and Cecilia, a dog Faunus.

"So. I'm Jaune Arc." Jaune began his introductions. "This is Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie-"

"Hello~!" Nora spoke up, waving excitedly at them.

"-And Lie Ren." Jaune finished, ignoring Nora completely as was the usual habit when she did that.

Ren and Isabella shared a look, Ren gestured to Nora and Isabella to Umi, before they both nodded, seemingly coming to an agreement. "Isabella. Isabella Cobalt." She introduced herself, getting a surprised look from the rest of her team. For now she, like her teammates, was wearing the simple school uniform, and Nora smiled thinly at her. She had long brown hair and sun-kissed skin, likely from long days spent in the hot sun, typical of those from Vacuo or that general ancestral region, the former being likely when coupled with her dark crimson eyes.

"Joseph Brimstone. Leader of team JUCI, at your service." The leader introduced himself calmly, nodding his head respectfully. He had hair slicked back almost to a shine, tied in a tight ponytail hanging down just below his mildly broad shoulders and pale skin that contrasted it sharply and made him look almost sickly, and his hard grey eyes only added to the image. Were he a character in one of his comics, he would likely call him the villain based on his looks.

"Arisato Umi. Just call me Umi." the Ren-lookalike said, looking at Isabella calmly. "It is good to meet such interesting individuals." Much like Ren, he had the slightly tanned skin and slanted eyes, and a lean figure. His hair was ever so slightly longer than Ren's, hanging loosely around his head, and missed the pink stripe and eyes, his own eyes being brown. Still, the likeness was uncanny enough to leave Jaune wondering if they may be related.

"Cecilia Stanford." The aforementioned faunus mentioned, her tail wagging slowly. "Nice to see a Faunus team here. It's refreshing to see that Beacon isn't discriminatory, though it makes great sense that it is not." She was slightly shorter than Jaune, just barely reaching his nose, with bright, happy blue eyes and short brown hair. Her pale skin and blue eyes gave Jaune the idea of her being Atlesian, like Weiss, and he felt a pang of wonder at how she was so happy appearing. Atlas was not so friendly to Faunus as Vale and Vacuo, from what he'd learned.

Jaune looked down at the folders, opening the top folder and beginning to read it off aloud. "Criminals- You will be robbing a multistory bank. Security is light, almost non-existent, and they rely almost exclusively on their sensors and guards to handle any intruders. They are not prepared for ten robbers. By now, if you are not at the holoprojector, please arrange around it to show basic building plans."

Jaune pressed the button, seeing the blueprints appear on the map as a 3D building appeared, obviously in the middle of a bustling city if the multiple buildings surrounding it were any indication.

"Looks like three entrances." Joseph muttered, eyeing the hologram carefully.

"Yeah. So… Any ideas?" Jaune smiled, looking around at the people arranged loosely around him.

"Well first, since we have so many Faunus here, guess we're the White Fang." Joseph muttered, and Jaune winced and ignored the sour expression on Weiss' face to the best of his ability. "We could use that?"

"That's reasonable, yeah. Gives a real faction for them to face." Jaune said. The White Fang was semi-exclusively Faunus, after all. Only half-faunus humans, child or otherwise, were accepted into it now. This group of eight, however, had six faunus in it. Jaune opened the folder again and smirked as his eyes caught the name of a vehicle. "Alright, here's the plan…"

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Twisted~ So, it's been a good while, and we apologize. Just been working with the Temple Walkers and we've had writer's block.**

 **Mika~ Well, you, maybe. I was still doing okay.**

 **Twisted~ Meany… Anyways, also been working on my own personal main series and such and such. So drop a Review, let us know what ya think. See you next chapter. So if you get bored while awaiting this story to be updated, check out Fragments of the Past and Sins (its sequel). Though be aware that they're both incredibly serious. Anyway, shameless self advertisement over.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Twisted- Story time~ Story time~ It's now story time~**

 **Mika- Yays! Story time! *Grabs blankets and popcorn.***

 **Twisted~ No, you're making the story.**

 **Mika~ But my popcorn…**

 **Twisted~ *sighs* You can have it.**

 **Mika~ Yay! Also, Volume 3 came out as of today (The 25th of October, 2015) on RT's website. Look at it. Also, I'm bad. I forgot CRDL's names because none of them are important.**

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **White Fang Agents- 16**_

 _ **Flame- Joseph Brimstone**_

 _ **Tear- Umi Arisato**_

 _ **Dog- Cecilia Stanford**_

 _ **Mute- Isabella Cobalt**_

 _ **Fox-Jaune Arc**_

 _ **Bunny- Nora Valkyrie**_

 _ **Rabbit- Pyrrha Nikos**_

 _ **Wolf- Lie Ren**_

 _ **8X White Fang Privates**_

 _ **Police Agents- Fifty on standby. ETA 3 minutes 37 seconds.**_

 _ **Major Cardin Winchester**_

 _ **Lieutenant Russel Thrush**_

 _ **Lieutenant Dove Bronzewing**_

 _ **Lieutenant Sky Lark**_

 _ **Captain Ruby Rose**_

 _ **Lieutenant Weiss Schnee**_

 _ **Lieutenant Blake Belladonna**_

 _ **Lieutenant Yang Xiao Long**_

 _ **All Systems nominal.**_

 _ **Initializing…**_

 _ **Begin Scenario.**_

Five White Fang soldiers stepped out of the van, stepping inside as the looked up at the bullhead dropping the other team off. As they turned the corner, one of them raised a shotgun into the air, firing it into the ceiling to attract attention and frighten everyone in the large atrium of the bank.

"Everybody down, nobody gets killed!" One of the two grunts ordered, lifting his shotgun in a second, threatening way, to intimidate everyone around him. Satisfied, he put a round into his shotgun, fully loading it again.

Umi, clad in a Lieutenant's uniform, a single tear decorating her mask next to the standard decorations, jumped over the counter, her assault rifle lowering as she threw a few heavy cloth bags at them. "Fill them, all the way. No games."

"Tear!" Cecilia tossed Umi a flashdrive, and she plugged it into the computer, Cecilia opening her laptop. "Alright, let's begin- Hold up. Alarm."

At the roof, Jaune, in a Spectre uniform again, heard a small beep and put his hand to an ear. Over the earbud, Cecilia spoke up. "Fox. Silent alarm went off. It connected to the police, but I cut it off."

"Good work, Dog. Privates Guide the hostages upstairs to us. Helis are fifteen minutes out."

"Aye Aye. Move it!"

The clerks finished, handing Cecilia the bags. Cecilia smiled mischievously, grabbing one clerk's hands, shoving an explosive into them, and deftly duct-taping it in place. "Hold this." The clerk, unaccustomed to having deadly things primed to go in her hand, let out a quiet 'meep' before nodding. "I'll deactivate it when we're clear. but if anyone - that means you," she glared at another teller that was in the process of sneaking away, who corrected his course to a safer spot on the floor. "If anyone tries something, this goes off. In that case, there's good news and bad news. The bad news is that there will be a crater where this wonderful establishment once was."

The clerk paused, before asking in a small voice. "...W-what's the good news?" Her eyes widened as Cecilia's face broke in a devilish grin.

"I can assure you that you won't have time to feel any of it." As Cecilia turned to leave, she was joined by Umi, who bore a shocked expression.

"...Wow, Ci. I honestly didn't know you had it in you." Cecilia scowled, a pained look that marred her otherwise attractive face.

"I can't believe they made me do that. I mean, if something goes wrong, I'm gonna be to blame!"

"Relax," Umi giggled. "In a few hours it won't matter so much, right?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Ci, seriously? I want you to fill in the blanks. They aren't…?" He waved his hand in a semi-circular motion to motion for her to finish the sentence, and she sighed.

"...Real." Cecilia groaned. "Yeah, I got that. Doesn't make me feel any better about playing the part of a heartless bitch. It's more that you said so yourself: I pulled it off. I actually pulled off an intimidating-"

An explosion rocked the bank, breaking off Cecilia's train of thought. "...The hell was that?" Umi settled into task mode, raising everyone on the comms. "Hey, Fox? Did Bunny just prematurely detonate?"

On the roof, Jaune had taken cover from a hailstorm of bullets. "That is a bucket full of nope, Tear. Get yourself and Dog somewhere defensible. We have…" He glanced over his barrier at a Bullhead just long enough to see a flash of a brilliant red cape, before a chunk of concrete flew past his face, propelled by a high-impact sniper round. "Uh, Rabbit?"

"On it." From a perch fifty feet above the situation, Pyrrha sat quietly, watching the motions of the police Bullhead. "Damn… Fox, circle around ninety degrees to the right on the roof. Get the bullhead facing toward me."

"Um... wait, what?"

"You heard me." Jaune groaned at the request, trying to remember how many bullets were in his assailant's magazines.

"Nine... Ten… Eleven…" He turned to look at the nearest desired cover, his boot's toes digging into the loose gravel beneath him. One more shot hit the concrete block next to him, and his fox ears picked up a barely audible metallic 'click' from the distance.

"Twelve!" Jaune pushed off with his back foot, taking a few desperate strides before tumbling into cover amidst a new volley, this time machinegun fire from the Bullhead as it's guns opened fire. "Remind me why Ruby is on suppression?"

"Orders from the Cardinal, I guess. Oh, and Fox?"

"What?"

"I stand corrected. My right. Your left."

" _Mother of-_ " Jaune began to swear, but was drowned out by Pyrrha's laughter.

"A joke! Just a joke! Wow, the look on your… You know what? I'm saving that picture. Priceless." Jaune growled lightly, glaring ahead slightly. Even if dying in the sim wasn't much of a problem, it still hurt.

"God… You are such a-" Jaune laughed in exasperation. "Whatever. Just take the shot, okay?"

"Roger." Pyrrha licked her lips, focusing the barrel of her rifle at the now exposed pilot. "...Air superiority?" As the round exited her chamber, hit the target, and caused the Bullhead to begin a spiraling descent as the pilot slumped over, Pyrrha snickered. "With my height advantage? Bitch, please." They heard the Bullhead hit the ground and catch fire, the Police's amount of people lowering to a much more reasonable 45.

"Wow." the voice crackled over her comms. It was Nora, who sounded rather excited as per usual. "Was that you, Pyrrha?"

"What?" Pyrrha waffled as she realized her mic had stayed switched on throughout the entire conversation.

"I honestly didn't know you had it in you to swear like that. You always seemed… Too polite." Ren's voice pipped up as well.

"How… How many of you heard that?"

"All of us." Umi piped in, biting back a snicker.

Pyrrha calmly switched her comms off before shouting out a string of frustrated obscenities at nothing in particular. She then returned to the conversation, keeping her voice as level as possible. "You all didn't hear that."

"Nope." Ren said calmly.

"What didn't we hear?" Cecilia offered truthfully from fifty floors below her.

"We didn't hear a thing." Said Nora, before entering a coughing fit that sounded strangely like the word 'did'.

"Also, aren't there eight people on a Bullhead including the pilot? According to the numbers, only five died."

"Guess a few made it." Jaune added, looking down at the burning wreckage as it exploded.

 _ **Captain Rose killed.**_

"Yang won't be happy…" Pyrrha noted idly as the number lowered to 44, grimacing when a thought occurred. "Neither will Ruby."

Jaune suppressed a shiver as he imagined what that would be like, before he realized something. He turned off his radio, looking at Pyrrha for a long few seconds until Pyrrha shifted, uncomfortable from the rather intense look. "What's wrong?"

"I can't use my Semblance, at all."

 _Meanwhile, at the Thirteenth Floor..._

"I'm going to kill that motherfucker!" Yang hissed, gripping Weiss's hand tightly and snarling ever-so-slightly.

"Pullmeuppullmeuppullmeuppleasedustpullmeup! I'm slipping!" Weiss spoke urgently, her legs flailing in the air as she tried to get traction against the glass of the skyscraper. Yang pulled her up, looking at the ruined floor. Right beside them, the bullhead had left a huge rut in the concrete floor, stretching down to the lowest level.

"Elevator's shot, ain't going anywhere on it today." Yang idly said, pressing the elevator button forcefully enough to crack the casing in her still-enraged state. "Fucking son of a bitch…"

"I'm not walking up forty flights of stairs." Weiss spoke up.

"We'll go down."

"Um, Yang?"

Rubble blocked the stairs, caused when the Bullhead had scraped against the side of the building. "…We're going up, then."

 _Downstairs…_

"We're done." Isabella reported, loading the last safety deposit box onto the freight elevator as it lifted itself up to the roof.

"Good thing too! Cop cars have arrived and they are opening fire!"

One of the hostages gave a gasp as they clutched their side, a neat bullet hole coming through the desk. "Flare! Mute! Get the hostages upstairs!" Joseph barked and Isabella, taking cover behind desks, mirrored him and took large ballistic shields from their backs, standing up and catching several bullets in the process. They moved to the desk as quickly as they could manage, angling their shields against police fire and protecting the hostages as best they could manage.

"Move your asses!" Caught between seemingly uncaring Police officers and caring terrorists, they nodded, following the terrorist's orders dutifully if in a rather frightened manner. Another round overpenetrated, killing the wounded hostage and another who was about to lift them to their shoulder.

Another two hostages were shot in the back, and the number went even lower. Ren and Isabella stood up, walking backwards, as the rest of the White Fang and the hostages slowly retreated to the elevator. Joseph was just a few inches away from the elevator when a lucky shot ricocheted, hitting his leg and causing him to fall to the ground. Cecelia felt a pain of agony hit her as she saw that, before she remembered that it was only a simulation and the agony instantly faded. But Joseph was only her teammate… A teammate with a crush on her, but still a teammate...

One of the hostages thought long and hard. And then he turned the corner himself, grabbing Joseph. "Keep the shield up!" The hostage, grabbing Joseph's sidearm, started dragging him, bringing him around the corner. Isabella helped him to his feet as everyone stared at the now armed hostage. "...They shot them in the back. We're humans. They didn't even care about us… You guys saved us though. I'd rather stick with you than some murderous, uncaring cops. Maybe this is what you Faunus felt like, doing whatever it takes to survive..."

To their amazement, the White Fang number went up by one and the Hostage count went down by one after he spoke that. And then the count kept changing as more and more hostages agreed. "Lima/Stockholm syndrome." Isabella supplied helpfully. "That, and we want to keep them alive. They want to stay alive. Kind of an obvious thing when you think about it."

Jaune brought a hand to his head as he spoke up. "We're full here. There's enough room for all of the hostages. The Present's a minute out."

"Talking about that… We only have five hostages now. The rest have died or defected." Umi said simply.

Jaune blinked as he and Pyrrha shared a look. "How many defectors are we talking about?"

The elevator doors opened, and Umi spoke up. "...Ten."

Jaune blinked again. "Huh. Bunny, detonate the elevators and inner stairwells. Wait a while though for the elevator."

 **20th Floor-**

Yang opened the door to the stairwell, stepping through. Her eyes widened as she saw a bomb there, flicking itself on and beeping quickly as she grabbed Weiss, pressing her against the wall as the bomb exploded, sending them both through the ruined wall."Ouch…" Yang muttered to herself, looking around. Weiss pushed against Yang, putting a hand on her breast accidentally. "Oh, Weiss! Like what you feel?"

Weiss blushed, moving her hand instantly and glaring at her lightly before hopping away a few extra inches and blinking at the charred surroundings. "Perhaps we should go to a different stairway…" Weiss idly noted, attempting to ignore the fact that she had just groped Yang.

They felt a whoosh of air as the elevator, a good portion of it's channel exposed due to the explosion, fell past them, most likely full of police officers. A few seconds later it hit the ground, sending up a plume of dust that reached the exposed portion of the thirteenth floor. The number of police officers fell from forty-four to a mere twenty-six, over half of the Police's total forces lost in less than twenty minutes. "That's a good idea! Why didn't we think of doing that?"

Cardin arrived, his team and a crowd that steadily grew just behind him. "Why aren't you animals at the damn roof yet? Were my orders too damned complicated for you?"

"The Bullhead was shot down, asshole." Yang justified easily, glaring at her supposed leader hotly. "Ruby died too, you prick."

"You had one job. Kill the White Fang. That's it. You couldn't even do that right! What the hell is your problem?"

"What about the hostages, Cardin? You know, the people in the bank?" Blake spoke up, coming up from just behind Cardin and working her way through the crowd of a quarter of the Police's remaining forces.

"What about them? Collateral damage, against fake people. Our job is to kill the White Fang, nothing but those animals matter to me." Blake bit back a retort as she walked to the remainder of her team, inwardly thinking about Adam and what he had said before she had left the White Fang.

Blake blinked, ears twitching in aggravation, heard a small WHUMPing sound in the distance. Yang and Weiss blinked too, hearing the noise. "Cardin, hold up. We're hearing something odd."

"It's nothing. Just your animal hearing acting up. Probably a damn whistle or something stupid like that." Cardin dismissed instantly, ignoring them entirely. The sound got louder, and by now WBY was realizing something was wrong. The three of them started up the stairs. "What the hell are you doing, you stupid animals? I told everyone to stay put, damnit! Sit, stay!"

Cardin got his answer as a Seraph-class attack helicopter - a large, brightly painted White Fang symbol painted on both sides of the cockpit - turned from behind a building, it's blades now audible to them, and the whirl of it's two miniguns sounded out as it spun them up. It opened fire just as a few of them started to run after WBY, and the number started to slowly raise as it strafed the Police, slowly but steadily following them upwards. Weiss and Yang ducked behind some concrete blocks as the machineguns chewed through the rubble, it's multiple belts of ammunition giving it more than enough ammo.

As the guns clicked empty, Sky Lark and Russel Thrush ran upwards, only to realize their mistake a split second later as the second belts clicked into place and the still-spinning guns opened fire again.

 _ **Lieutenant Bronzewing killed**_

 _ **Lieutenant Lark Killed**_

Cardin scrambled upwards, swearing angrily and scrambling for cover while he furiously thought up a plan of some sort. Then a thought struck, and he smiled widely before smacking a hand against his ear to activate his comm. unit and call Yang. "Blondie, blow the damn thing up."

"Do it yourself! I don't have any explosives on me, remember?" She half-yelled, flipping him off lightly.

"Punch it, you damned bimbo!" He snarled into his headset.

"It's a helicopter!"

"Jump higher then, bitch!" He said angrily, shaking his head, "Figure it out."

Cardin noted a rocket launcher on the back of a torn-in-half Swat member, grabbing it with a huff. "Typical animals… Want something done right, do it yourself."

"What are you planning, asshole?" Yang grumbled lowly, glaring at the man heatedly.

"Doing your job, mutt."

"Stop, wait! It's not clear, It's not cl-"

Cardin fired the missile, the rocket streaking out towards the heli. The helicopter moved to the side in attempt to avoid it, the rocket turning and hitting it. Smoke spewed from the engine as it attempted to right itself, moving sluggishly, and then it spiralled out of control. The helicopter fell, slamming into the ground floor and breaking into pieces, the rotor impaling the nearby building with ease and sending a large gash into it.

High-grade airplane fuel leaked from damaged fuel tanks, sparks coming from exposed as it tried to control it's missing tail.

A stray spark ignited, sending the whole heli ablaze, the flames licking at the explosive charges Nora had placed earlier. And as the flames grew, the bullets inside the chambers grew hotter and hotter, the rockets inside the heli's wings doing the same.

The bullets, heated by the intense heat of the avionic fuel, were the first to go, setting off the rest of the ammunition and then the missiles, causing a massive explosion. That explosion was enough to destabilize Nora's explosives, causing three of the five to explode prematurely.

Luckily, the White Fang was aboard the helicopters already. The entire building gave a rumble as it leaned forwards, crushing the helicopter and killing the pilot inside like a grape. And then, the steel gave way. The entire building crumpled at the thirteenth floor, collapsing fully as two White Fang transports left the rubble.

 **Simulation End.**

 **Losses-**

 **Hostages- (0/20)**

 **Defectors (10/20)**

 **Police- Entirety. (0/50)**

 **White Fang- Minor (14/16)**

 **White Fang gains** _ **\- Eight Tons of Experimental Dust From the Schnee Labs.**_

 _ **Pin numbers, Bank accounts, and security boxes worth approximately 20,000,000 Lien.**_

 _ **Ten Human Recruits.**_

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Mika~ For those who counted, only ten people were directly mentioned. Two were in command of the chopper. Where were the other four?**


	13. Chapter 13

**Mika~ So. Things we haven't told you will be revealed in this chapter.**

 **Twisted~ Yup~**

 **Mika~ Also, I suppose I haven't explained Rouge's to you guys. My bad. Rouge's is a genetic disease that affects faunus. In humans, the gene is a simple carrier, doing nothing aside from spreading to their children. In Faunus, it makes their animal features more prevalent and numerous. An example is Luna Arc, or any of Teams RWBY and JNPR now. In laymans terms, if a faunus, say for example, Fox or Cat, is born with Rouge's, they will have both a tail and ears in all circumstances, as well as slightly pointed canines commonly if carnivorous and their animal's eyes in rare circumstances.**

 **Twisted~ Uh, yup! That's a thing. Also, for me at least, I may not be on very often. Mum is having surgery for cancer today so for the next couple months I'll be helping her around the house and stuff while she recovers. Means less writing time, sadly.**

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Congratulations, Mr Winchester." Miss Goodwitch began, visibly holding back anger. "You never negotiated with the White Fan-"

"And why should I? They're just dirty Faun-"

"Silence!" She yelled, releasing a bit of pent-up anger. " You deemed the hostages, the very people you were supposed to free by the way, collateral damage and you callously ignored vital intelligence because it came from a faunus. Likewise, you blatantly abused your power, leading to the deaths of the entirety of the police force." **"And the defection of ten humans… I never even knew that was programmed into the Hostages..."**

He wisely kept his mouth shut, saying nothing. "This simulation was given to me by the headmaster specifically for you, Mr. Winchester. He insisted before Initiation that you were unfit for leadership. I argued against Mister Arc's appointment as team leader for similar reasons. I see I was wrong on both accounts." Glynda adjusted her glasses, causing the tense air to thicken in a way only she could pull off. "...This mistake of mine is something I have acknowledged; that is a trait that you have been lacking from day one. Another thing that you cannot seem to grasp is the need to adapt to situations as new information arises, no matter the source and so-" Glynda moved to a computer terminal, issuing a brief command. On the wall-screen, the words, 'CRDL UPDATED' flashed in green letters. "Perhaps he can learn from this."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Cardin asked nervously, trying his best not to sound as terrified as he felt. " **Oh god, I'm not going to be expelled for that, am I? A few Faunus caused this?"**

"It means, Mr. Winchester," Glynda pursed her lips. "That Team CRDL has a new leader, until further notice. Perhaps this will grant a new perspective."

Cardin didn't answer at once; instead he sat, eyes vacant, trying his hardest to process that things weren't going his way for once in his pathetic life. "I'm… not leading?" **"No, no, no, no…"**

"No, you are not. You, mister Winchester, have been stripped of that privilege in its entirety. If I could, I would rather you be outright expelled. Sadly, the Headmaster won't allow that appropriate punishment for your blatant racism and prejudice and clear inability to even consider doing your duty as a Huntsmen!" Glynda took a brief second to compose herself, her crop bent in her hands in her fury," Now, Ozpin would like a word with you." **"That man infuriates me sometimes..."**

"A… Word? With me?" Cardin's anxiety redoubled, coupling with his stinging pride, and stunning him into silence for a moment. Only for a moment though, before his prideful nature kicked back into gear," Know what? Go to hell! I'll go over your head." **"I'll at least get back at that punk for this…"**

"I will be sure to mention that in my report to him." Glynda said, straining to keep her composure as he ran off, though Jaune noted that she easily looked more furious than he'd ever seen her, "Honestly, I don't understand what goes through Ozpin's head sometimes." **"Ungrateful bastard. I should've trusted Ozpin, but someone has to keep him in check..."**

"M-Miss Goodwitch, can we be dismissed now?" Jaune blinked at the nervous words Weiss spoke, turning to look at her in surprise. Weiss was many things, and spoke in many ways, but nervous was never one of them. **"Oh god, she's worse than Grandfather when he's angry."**

"Yes, you are all dismissed. Except for you, Mister Arc. I need a word with you in private." "If this is true, it's… troubling." As the others filed out, Glynda gave a small sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose, fighting back one of her many migraines. "Mr Arc, I admit, I had my doubts about the legitimacy of your transcripts. At this point, however, you have earned my trust and your place in this school. So I apologize for those judgements against you." **"At this point, it doesn't really matter, now does it? He's passed initiation, he's passed the minimum requirements, he has defeated multiple opponents in duels…"**

"It's… Fine, Miss Goodwitch. I was never really good at combat stuff so I can see why you'd be suspicious, and my records weren't that good on their own anyways." Jaune laughed lightly for half a second, but the professor's typical unamused expression quickly drained that and he rubbed the back of his neck for a moment in anxiety. "So, um, what is it you were wanting?"

"In a student's records, things are detailed for future use. Tournaments, for example. Many students from our academy are being examined and debated as teams to put forward to compete in the upcoming Vytal tournament. Unfortunately, your records don't register your full Aura level." She paused, turning to retrieve her Scroll from the table behind her," We also need your Semblance on record, for consideration. We wouldn't want someone with a very dangerous one to compete against the students from other Kingdoms. Such a thing would cause a diplomatic incident, especially if a student were to die." **"Atlas is still apologizing today for Miss Henki's Blood semblance…"** "Rest assured, it will be entirely confidential. Only officials will ever see your records."

"Well, uh, in that case, it's-"

The professor's Scroll seemed to choose that moment to buzz loudly, and she held up a hand to pause her student while she skimmed the message and her mood seemed to slowly foul before she quickly cooled her features, "It appears that you are needed by the headmaster, now. I was given no details, but it appears mister Winchester is attempting to accuse you of something untoward." " **Mr Arc was a human until a few days ago. The White Fang made their stance on humans very clear."**

Jaune frowned, and his ears flattened slightly in aggravation and anxiety, both caused by the idea that Winchester somehow knew about his less-than-stellar past or, worse, his ability. Lost in thought, he didn't even speak to the older woman and instead turned to leave, striding from the room with aggravated flicks of his tail and ears, though he actually noted neither. He needed to go meet with the Headmaster, and deal with whatever that bastard Cardin was stirring up, before doing absolutely anything else. The trip itself was… Rather uneventful, all things considered, and he had luckily grown quite adept at avoiding gazes and thus avoiding using his power. So a quick walk and a short elevator ride - appreciating the sunset and view greatly in spite of himself - and he paused briefly when the doors opened, boring holes into the back of each man's head.

 **"-damn animals, ruining everything."**

 **"I need stronger coffee for this shit…"**

Jaune would have chuckled in any other circumstance, as the swearing was amusing coming from the reserved older man. Cardin, however, had soured his mood irrevocably and completely though and he doubted laughing would be prudent besides. Ozpin spotted the young blonde after only a second, smiling widely and gesturing at him," I do believe our defendant is here now, so you can say what you wish once he takes a seat. Assuming of course he doesn't want tea? Coffee?"

"Tea would be nice." Jaune said, taking a seat and nodding politely.

"You called him?" Cardin ground his teeth slightly as Jaune took a seat and the offered mug, Beacon emblem scored on the front proudly," Fine, whatever, you know he can't stay here. We both know what the freak is. He's a-" "-"

"Mister Winchester, you have already angered one administrator. Do not make it two." Ozpin warned as Cardin continued, smiling politely and taking a small sip from his mug. Despite the innocence of the face and gesture, Jaune felt… Chilled by it for some reason, enough so that his ears flattened slightly, though he couldn't place it.

"Every word I say about his inbred family of worthless mutts is true, from the White Fang bitch to the nurse here at Beac-"

In a flash so fast even Jaune's mildly enhanced eyesight could scarcely track it, Ozpin's face transformed from impassive and neutral, if tense, to a mask of pure anger. Eyes narrowed, brows furrowed, and lips pressed into a thing, irate line, which on any other face would have displayed displeasure or mild discomfort, but on his own face seemed to convey anger more effectively than any other he could make.

Equally fast, his cane spun in his off hand and launched, the head smacking into Winchester's own and bouncing back via a cable attached to the older man's wrist. The blow struck hard enough to knock the chair back, and was back in Ozpin's hand before Jaune could even fully register it, though it was obvious Cardin had fully registered it himself judging by the expletives coming from him.

Ozpin smiled calmly, slamming his mug down on the table before him and levelling that intense glare at the boy once more," Now listen here you little prick, I do believe I have played nice with you long enough and insulting Luna shall not be tolerated. I will have you know that she not only saved my leg, but my life as well multiple times. Glynda, Port and Oobleck as well, no less than thrice apiece. So before you deign to call her, or frankly anyone else for that matter, worthless do tell me how many lives you have saved."

"None. But that doesn't mean I'll let those animals take any either." Cardin glared back, ignoring both blood and bruise," And you know damned well what I mean." "I can't let any more people die like Mom and Clover..."

"You know as well as I do that that was not Faunus alone. I would speak more, but unlike you, I have concern for other's privacy." Ozpin's gaze didn't even soften overmuch, and he simply gestured at the door behind the duo," You may leave, I wish to speak to young Jaune privately." "Pain does not excuse bigotry."

Cardin got up and left easily, a new hint of understanding forming in his mind.

As the door closed, Jaune spoke up. "You taught my sister?"

"Yes, I did. One of my last personal students before I became the Headmaster, matter of fact." He said with a hint of sorrowful pride, and a thin almost pained smile. "I couldn't take another after that happened…"

"She doesn't like to talk about it. Sir." Jaune said softly, adding in the 'sir' almost in an after thought, habit from his two years working with the Fang.

"It was a Sepulchre." Ozpin said with finality. "I am an SS class Hunter, I can kill a single Goliath without getting critically injured. But Sepulchres… They're a whole different class altogether. Me, Glynda, Port and Oobleck and their students fought it alongside another student of mine, Hazel." Ozpin gave a deep sigh as he looked into his tea. "Every single one of our students died save Luna, no matter what we tried. Hazel, Wren, Stahl, Fenris, Opal... We only got a break when Luna was stabbed while pushing me out of the way. She held the leg inside her so that it couldn't move as quickly as we unloaded everything we had on it. It just shrugged it off and escaped, killing Opal in the process. You're... familiar with what happened afterwards." **"Familiar with my failing…"**

"Luna had to retire because of her leg." Jaune finished somberly, grimacing slightly. He briefly considered comforting him, but felt it would be impolite or presumptuous to do so.

"Wren… Couldn't take it after that. Only three hunters died that day, but in a way, none of our students survived. Not even Luna." Ozpin sighed, taking a long drink from his mug, and set it down before clapping his hands together," None of this is relevant though! I didn't call you here for that, I called you here thanks to mister Winchester's decision to impart information regarding you to me." " **Where did she hide my damn whiskey? I really need a drink right about now…"**

"Out of curiosity, how much does he actually know?" Jaune asked calmly, though Ozpin could see his anxiety in the twitching of his ears and flicking of his tail," Just to know what I'm dealing with."

"Well, most of it I already knew. About your past affiliation with the formerly peaceful White Fang and your faked transcripts. I knew about both, but I still let you into my academy, so relax your tail before you hurt yourself." Jaune stiffened in surprise, grabbing the foreign limb, and Ozpin chuckled to himself," He also spun a fanciful tale-" **"- about you reading minds."**

Jaune very, very briefly considered lying, to keep his secret, and after a moment he merely sighed and tried to ignore that damned knowing smirk on Ozpin's face," That's, uh, actually true. It's my semblance, woke it up in the initiation when Pyrrha awakened my Aura."

"I see. That is… quite advantageous for you. Would you wait just a moment?" "Time for a test." Jaune nodded, and Ozpin pressed a few buttons on his Scroll. They waited in silence for a few minutes until Jaune heard the door behind him open and he turned.

 **"Of all the insufferable, annoying, needy, dust damned-"** "Yes, headmaster, how may I help you?" Jaune nearly chuckled at Glynda, instead biting the inside of his lip to prevent it.

"Help me test something. But first, would you please tell me where you hid my Vacuo Brandy this time?" He gave Jaune a thin, confident smile **, "Prove what you say."**

"As if I would ever tell you that! And what on Remnant makes you think that is an appropriate thing to ask in front of one of your students, Headmaster!" **"Don't look at the books behind him, don't look, he'll see you looking."** She took a steadying breath, pinching the bridge of her nose to ward off an oncoming headache," Is that all, Ozpin? I have work to do."

"Well?" He gave Jaune a look and the young man nodded slightly, making him smile," Yes, that will be all. Thank you, you were an immense help." Glynda huffed angrily and turned, heels clicking angrily as she stormed out of the room and Jaune sighed.

"All I got was that it has to do with the books behind you. It should be somewhere around there." Ozpin raised an eyebrow and Jaune glared," Hey, I only get whatever it is they happen to be thinking about right then and there, Headmaster. It's not perfect."

"Fair enough." He said quietly, turning and rifling through the books for several minutes. Eventually he whooped in excitement and spun his chair back around, a small brown flask in his hand," Looks like you were right. So, I suppose, that means you do indeed have the previously mentioned incredible Semblance. So, I'll just put that you have Telepathy as your semblance in your confidential files and you may leave. Unless you want me to comment on how you helped your sister defect from the White Fang?" **"Most likely with lethal amounts of violence, am I right?"**

"N-Nope, I think I'll just head out. Maybe grab a bite with Pyrrha." The Headmaster merely smiled and nodded, gesturing at the door, and Jaune took the opportunity to get the hell out of there as fast as possible. Once the elevator door opened at the base of the tower, he let out a stressed breath and took an easy step out of it.

And immediately stepped on a shoe lace, tripping and tumbling into the waiting person there. He flailed in an attempt to right himself, arms grasping at the air in a vain effort to find purchase on something as he tumbled toward the person standing, wide-eyed, in front of him. She easily stepped back and to the side to avoid being tackled by him, but his flailing hands did manage to get ahold of something. Namely the part of her dress around her stomach, which needless to say couldn't quite deal with the force of a mildly large young man falling past her with a fistfull of it. So it did what all cloth does under stress, and tore so that the lower half of the dress came away like a sheet, leaving her bare from everywhere below her breasts. Her eyes widened as she covered herself up, giving a small squeak of shock. Jaune looked up, a blush forming on his face, past the underwear ** _, 'Lacy white'_** he idly thought, trying to ignore her choice of bra. Or rather, her lack of one.

"Y-you pervert!" Weiss squeaked, backing into the corner and turning to try and hide her front from him. His eyes trailed downwards and she blushed deeper, but made no movement to cover herself. Jaune picked up the dress, offering it, and Weiss looked around for someplace to change quickly. Meanwhile Jaune wracked his own brain for a way to fix the inadvertent foul up. A small sigh came from Weiss's throat as she saw that the dress was ruined.

Eventually, he stood up and grabbed her arm - ignoring her squeak of protest and surprise - and dragged her into the elevator, smashing a fist into the 'up' button and turning his back to her, both to avoid seeing her and reading her mind. "When we get to the Headmaster's office, you can get a uniform and change… Sorry about the dress. It was pretty, looked expensive." Jaune said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Don't turn around." She said with a surprisingly authoritative, if still muted somewhat, voice. "A-and yes, it was expensive. M-most of my clothes are, you know, and that one was new."

He murmured another apology, and the two waited awkwardly until the elevator dinged and the two stepped into the office. Ozpin blinked in surprise, for multiple reasons, and opened his mouth to ask what had happened.

"Had an accident, don't wanna talk about it, need a fresh uniform for Weiss." Ozpin blinked in surprise, turning to look at Weiss in confusion, and sighed when she squeaked and hid behind the blonde.

"I'll, er, call Glynda then." **"Did you really have to do this now, Jaune?"** Jaune's glare intensified, and the man chuckled dryly and started hammering buttons on his Scroll. "She's on her way, and should arrive shortly. Miss Schnee would you like to, uh, take a seat?"

"Y-yeah." She spoke, using the remains of her dress to cover herself as she took a seat, shivering slightly on the cold wood.

Ozpin grunted lightly, gesturing at the lightly blushing girl with his head slightly, **"She's shivering. Use your jacket." ,** and Jaune nodded before slipping his jacket off and offering it to her.

"Thank you." She said gratefully, sliding the slightly larger jacket while attempting to cover herself, zipping it up and smiling at him shyly, "The, uh, seat is still cold though…"

Jaune gave the Headmaster a look, and the man smiled, **"What the lady asks, the lady gets. Trust me on this one."**

Jaune took off his shirt, handing it to the young Schnee and she smiled and used it as a pillow, **"Oh my god, he looks great… I hope he sticks around and Professor Goodwitch takes her time."** "Thank you so much, Jaune."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Twisted~ A thing! A thing! A funny thing! Is it also a gun?**

 **Mika~It is a gun!**

 **Twisted~ Yay *accidentally shoots foot* Not yay!**

 **Mika~ Nuu! Anyways, sorry for the wait. We're starting the next chapter ASAP!**

 **Twisted~ Yup. expect delays though, for previously explained raisins.**


	14. Chapter 14

Mika~ So, I suppose I should explain something else- So far, we've seen things from Jaune's POV. Which means, there's stuff you haven't been told.

Twisted~ Also means you've gotten the benefit of his Telepathy. For this chapter, we change perspectives entirely. Meaning no Telepathy at all. Rather, you will see through the eyes of another.

Mika~ Yep. Also, to the asshole Guest- Who the hell do you think you are? Twisted alone has to deal with the Templewalkers, His mom, and self-entitled bastards like yourself. You Aren't Special. Everyone else sits patiently and waits for their chapters, and you know what? They GET those chapters. And we enjoy giving them to them. You, though? I don't want you here. We Will turn on guest moderation if we have to, and then that's even less time for us to write. Check your privilege.

On a more positive note, if you have an actual question, please make an account so I can PM you personally. For example, this Guest-

"I'm confused, you said all the students died, but then said one of the named students couldn't take it and then said only three hunters died that day?"

To explain- Three people died on that specific day. Wren committed suicide a few days later because his idea (Go hunting in that cave) killed his fiancee and former teammate, Opal. Luna "Died" that day because of trauma caused by the deaths of three of her friends and then the suicide of her final friend who lived through that. If he/she had an account, I could've given them the answer easily.

Twisted~ Mika is scawy!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Weiss Schnee

Weiss yawned and stretched in her bed, looking around at the empty dorm curiously for several seconds. She blinked a few times, wondering idly where her team had run off to, and eventually sighed and rolled off her bed to start dressing for the day, rummaging in her nightstand for her 'special' hair brush for her tail.

Bringing her tail onto her lap, she brushed it easily, seeing a small icon beeping on her Scroll out of the corner of her eye. Opening her two messages, she saw the first, a simple message to her from Ruby saying that they were having breakfast in the cafeteria. The other one was…

From her father, stating that he'd come to Vale for business and would be at Beacon around noon and wanted to check in on her. Panicking ever so slightly, she tossed her hair brush aside as she saw the message, throwing on her clothes as quickly as possible and contemplating how, exactly, she would hide her new race from her father.

"Half an hour until I need to see him…" she idly spoke to herself as she attempted to bite down her rising panic, she rushed down to the cafeteria, seeing the rest of her team and team JNPR eating and chatting away idly. "Blake. I need your help."

Blake's ears, exposed to the air, twitched in acknowledgement and curiosity as she turned, her tail curling slightly. "Yes, what do you need help with, Weiss?" She of course merely thought Weiss wanted advice about being a Faunus, which was true in a way and wouldn't be the first time the Schnee had come to her for it.

Weiss took a deep breath, thinking of exactly what to say. "My father's coming. Here. I have under thirty minutes. Can you tell me how to hide it?" A flick of her tail showed Blake what she meant, if she had needed to be shown.

However, Yang was the first to react, slamming a palm on the table and leaning across it," Your dad is coming to Beacon? To visit you? That… could cause you some issues, yeah?"

"Yes, that's a big... issue." Weiss said simply, sighing as she looked at the time. Five minutes gone already, and she rounded on Blake. "Help, now, please!" She bit her lip slightly to keep her tone down and not draw attention, bouncing on her feet slightly.

"Weiss, relax." Blake soothed, putting her hands on Weiss's shoulders. "He's your father, right? Explain what happened to him, even a Schnee would- Even one of your family would understand that."

"Yeah. Not like it's your fault or anything you got all sick and stuff." Ruby mumbled, grabbing a cookie and wolfing it down," You and Blake can have the dorm until he gets here, get everything sorted out."

Jaune's face seemed to pinch lightly when Weiss blushed at the idea of being alone with Blake in the dorm, but both of them calmed before the other noticed. Weiss was mildly confused when she tore herself from her mild fantasy to see Jaune blushing slightly, but frankly didn't have time to waste on it, instead grabbing Blake's hand and - a tad forcefully, admittedly - dragging her towards their dorm.

"Weiss, calm down, people are going to wonder why we're running off together. Holding hands." Blake gave the girl a look as they rounded a corner into their hall, and Weiss blushed a crimson before releasing the hand. "Thank you. Although, we do that all the time in private... "

"D-Don't say stuff like that!" She said in a hushed whisper, blushing furiously. Blake simply gave one of her small, amused smiles. She bit her lip slightly, glaring, and turned around," Can we just get started?"

"Once we're inside, yes." She gestured at the door, smiling slightly," Shall we?" The Heiress nodded hesitantly, sliding her Scroll across the locking mechanism and the duo stepped inside. The brunette of the duo immediately went to her closet, digging around for something. "Where's your dress?"

"I, uh, well, I had an… accident." She shook her head to rid herself of the uncomfortable memory," It's not an option."

"Uh, okay. Well that means you'll have to wear a skirt or pants, and we don't have any pants your size, so a skirt is our best bet. Which means your tail will…" Blake sighed, turning a cool gaze on her and tossing a skirt her way."...This may get a bit awkward for you."

Weiss looked up from taking off her uniform, slipping her skirt on and carefully sliding her tail out. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean I'll need to either show you with one of my skirts or do it myself to you while you're in one of yours." She spoke calmly, but couldn't help buts mirk when Weiss turned as red as Ruby's cloak.

"W-what? Why?"

"Because you need to hide your tail. A bow might be able to hide your ears, if you're lucky. But since we don't have pants that fit you right, I can't just bind your tail to your leg like I normally would, and we still need to hide it." Blake shrugged as though it were obvious, and Weiss opened her mouth to argue but couldn't fight the logic.

"Fine…" Blake got on her knees, going underneath Weiss's skirt and gently winding Weiss's tail around her upper thigh, doing her best to avoid touching the sensitive base or… Anywhere else sensitive, really, though she couldn't escape brushing her hands along the girl's inner thigh on occasion, which did elicit the occasional gasp from the heiress and a blush from both of them.

A few minutes later, she slid up from underneath Weiss's skirt, getting to her feet easily. "Alright then… Now it's your ears. You could borrow one of my bows, they work well enough with the school's uniform." Weiss, blushing furiously still, simply nodded and took a seat on the bed while Blake shuffled through her drawers, looking for a nice enough one to fool a rich CEO…

"We're screwed, aren't we?" Weiss mused quietly, sighing and toying with a stray strand of her hair.

"Probably, but we have to try anyways. Who knows, it might actually work… somehow. You could layer your hair to cover your ears, too." Blake shrugged again, though this time the smaller girl couldn't see her.

"Just go with the bow." Weiss decided as Blake began tying her ribbon around Weiss's ears, which she found… rather uncomfortable, frankly. It pinched and muffled the sounds around her a lot, and it was hot to the point of discomfort for her with her sensitivity to heat. "I don't like this… At all."

"Yeah, it sucks." Blake muttered, tying her own tail down and looking for her old bow," You learn to bear it, though, after a few hours. Just grin and ignore it and you'll be fine."

"You wore a bow like this for a long time…" Weiss didn't mention that it had to be hell on her, or say she was sorry about her having to do it, but Blake understood the undertones and smiled.

"Not anymore, though." She grabbed her Scroll, checking the time idly," We have five minutes. Want me to message the team and have them get together?"

"Yeah. He probably would want to meet you all, all things considered… Might find it suspicious if I don't bring you." Blake just shrugged in reply to her answer, turning around and typing away on her Scroll for a minute while the duo finished touching up their outfits.

"They'll be a bit late - Ruby spilled milk on Yang's top - but they'll show up in about ten minutes. Just need a location." Blake slid the Scroll away in a pocket, turning to look at the nervous Schnee," Two faunus on one team isn't that odd, so it should be fine. Where we heading?"

"Well, he's… Not exactly told me, but if he's coming to Beacon he'll probably spend quite a while in the Headmaster's office…"

"Then let's go there right now, pop in for a surprise, should throw him off a bit and make him not become suspicious. And we don't want Ozpin to tell him about your little tail," Blake smirked and gave the other girl a wink before pausing and frowning," I need to stop hanging out with Yang so much…"

"Yeah, definitely avoid that." Weiss deadpanned, walking towards the door," let's just get going, my ears hurt." Blake nodded and followed behind the miffed looking girl, watching her fidget slightly with her bow several times.

While working at Beacon was considered prestigious, a great honor even, the location of the academy itself meant that the teachers and faculty had to live on campus as well as their students did. The 'apartments' - as Glynda had refused to allow Ozpin to refer to them as dorms - were truly rather nice, spacious even, with plenty of room for friends over even if they were themselves rather simple. Ozpin's even had a balcony, and a rather large one at that, just for such occasions, though he still had to deal with Glynda glowering about it.

Honestly, she didn't need to sunbathe all the time regardless of whatever Port suggested.

Sitting on the balcony now, with the headmaster himself, was a rather plain looking man, appearing, for all intents and purposes, like a regular man with a powerful swimmer's lithe build, even if he had a slightly more aristocratic appeal to him. The frosted grey hair mixed well with his stiff white suit, the Schnee Snowflake on his shoulder and back proudly. He had more fancy things to wear, but neither he nor Ozpin enjoyed that level of fancy on most occasions.

"So, Oliver, how is my daughter doing?" The man, Weiss's father Stahl, spoke up, leaning forward in his seat comfortably," She never seems to call, you know."

Ozpin adjusted his glasses and took a long draught of coffee, stalling to plan carefully what his next words should be. After several seconds he responded in his best purely-professional-monotone-headmaster voice.

"She is reaching the culmination of her first years at this academy. I should think it natural she devote her time to her studies, wouldn't you agree, Mister Schnee?"

Stahl waved a hand in the air as he took a sip of his own beverage of choice, a top shelf bourbon he had picked up while on his way through Vale. Ozpin surreptitiously eyed him in envy, glancing quickly back at his own mug as the man's gaze locked with his own. "Yes, yes. I am aware of the thought. Schooling first, as it were. But no," Stahl leaned forward, a mild concerned glint in his eye. "What I mean by 'never seems to call' goes further than her studies."

"Oh?" Was Ozpin's noncommittal reply. He stared back at Mister Schnee, the thought occurring to him that this was the first time in years anyone other than Glynda made him want to flinch at a simple look. Stahl shrugged and settled back in his heavily cushioned armchair.

"It seems that even the moments that she should have no problem returning my calls - which, by the way, I have sent a fair number of. I am truly interested in her successes, after all. - Even in those instances, it is less that she cannot, and more as if she chooses not to. Do you understand my problem?" He took another sip from his glass. "I am a busy man, Oliver. I work in my office, I eat in my office… And yes, I have on occasion slept on pillows of contracts and invoices. But I try to be a father, as that is also my job. A job that I enjoy far more than the one that requires a desk. Is it not too much to ask of my own blood to answer my call to let me know that she is still breathing?"

Ozpin smiled slightly. A parent concerned for his child. How many times had he been faced with that obstacle? He was a veteran in his own right, his battlefield, the minds of his students and those who raised them. Offering peace of mind should be second nature to him. So why did the fact that this parent probably had more money than god make a difference? He was still a father. He followed the same rules as every other father out there. "Mister Schnee, allow me to-"

Just as the train began to roll, the doors of the headmaster's office rocked on their hinges, revealing a white haired girl in a skirt and an accompanying girl with a darker head of hair. Both looked extremely out of breath. Both wore obscenely large bows atop their heads.

"Father!"

The room would have been silent if it wasn't for Ozpin's uncanny knack of never missing a beat. He coughed lightly, changing the direction of his words mid-sentence.

"Mister Schnee, allow me to call in your daughter, whom I am sure is on her way now."

"...She is here, Oliver."

"So she is. It appears my work here is done. As private meetings go, I will not interfere. You will find me waiting outside when you are through." The headmaster strode down the length of his office, latching onto the arm of Blake as he did. "Private, Miss Belladonna." Blake whispered a tiny "good luck" as she was escorted out, leaving the two Schnees alone in a room that could have been an ocean for all the distance it seemed to project.


	15. Chapter 15

**Twisted~ To answer a few questions, we haven't abandoned the Weiss or Blake ships for Jaune. They're just close to each other as well, holding hands and shit. Mostly because Blake, as stated, tends to help Weiss-creme out with things more, explaining how Faunus traits affect things and so on. Which is why she asked Blake for help hiding what she is.**

 **** **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **Weiss Schnee**_

"So…" Stahl began, putting his drink aside and giving Weiss his full attention with a small, satisfied smile. "How is Beacon for you? Making friends, getting more skills that will help you be a Huntress?"

"Yes, father, I have made… several friends and learned a great many things since my enrollment here." She grabbed a mug in slender, nervous hands and took a sip of the tea inside. "How are things with the company going?"

"Busy, as usual." Stahl said with a sigh, sipping at his tea. "Your grandfather said something about you having a mission on your records?"

"Ah, yes. A friend of mine from another team uncovered something and it lead to us having a mission against the White Fang." Weiss unconsciously flexed her ears, feeling numbness slowly creeping down them in the cramped bow.

Stahl, used to multitasking from long days working for the company, noticed the twitch, dismissing it as a trick of the light or wind from the balcony as he refocused on her face, a concerned note in his voice. "That trash? Were you hurt? Were any of your friends hurt?"

"No, Jaune was fine. Everyone is… fine." She stuttered slightly, grabbing her cup and staring into the liquid anxiously.

"Jaune? You don't mean Jaune Arc, by any chance?" Stahl said, leaning forward in his chair in interest. He knew the Arcs, from business he and his workers had done in Menagerie, and everyone knew about the family's kindness.

"Y-yes, actually." Weiss stammered, her ears twitching again ever so slightly. For a second time, Stahl noticed, dismissing it yet again.

"So, how is Mr. Arc? Is he polite, strong?" Stahl smiled thinly, reclining in his chair, and the smile widened when Weiss' face lit up.

"Oh, he's polite and strong. On par with me, at least, if not better. He likes the same things I do too!" Her tail curled unconsciously, trying to move in her excitement.

"Oh?" Stahl said with genuine curiosity," What interest could those be, I wonder? Some project or hobby mayhaps?"

"...Gaming…" Weiss said softly, forcing her ears not to flatten in embarrassment. "It's a hobby…" She grimaced, rubbing her arm softly in anxiety.

"Ah, so it's gaming. Dad tends to look down on it and so you assumed I did as well, am I right?" Stahl sighed, inwardly saddened by the fact that her grandfather had spent more time with Weiss than he had. "I've no problem with it if you're happy, Weiss. Me and my father disagree on several things, you should know that. Anyways, how good is he?"

"He's very good! He's a shotgunner, and he's just as good as I am! There was one time we were storming Shanghai's tower. It was filled with probably the entire team, and," Stahl smiled warmly, watching her get excited as she talked. It'd been awhile since they'd been able to spend such quality time together like this, father and daughter.

Stahl's eyes locked on her bow again as one of the sides twitched a third time, and Stahl knew it wasn't a trick of the light or wind this time. "If I might interrupt, Weiss, why are you wearing that bow?"

"W-What? Oh, uh, well I have a friend named Blake who wears them and I thought they looked nice. Thought I'd try it out, see how it looked." Weiss faked a confident smile," I've been told it's rather cute."

"I think so as well, but… Come here for a moment, it's somewhat lopsided. The wind, most likely. I'll correct it for you." He stood up, smiling calmingly at her, and started to circle around the small table.

She stood up just as quickly, smiling anxiously," N-No, it's fine, I'll get it in the bathroom or-"

"Why bother when I can fix it for you more easily and more quickly? Just come here honey and calm down. Honestly, what's the matter with you?" Stahl fixed her with a firm stare, looking down on her from his foot of extra height.

Weiss looked down nervously, then to the door, raising her hands up to her bow slowly. "I didn't want to make you angry…" With a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach, she untied the bow, her ears twitching slightly in nervousness. Then, she brought the ribbon out, untying her tail and laying it across her lap.

"Ears."

"And a tail." Weiss spoke, barely over a whisper.

"How long have you had them?" Stahl's voice was deadpan, and the way Weiss remembered it, the volume and intensity would either increase in volume, or fizzle out. She cringed as she realized which was more likely.

"About a month. Give or take."

Stahl didn't speak, and Weiss didn't dare make eye contact. As long as her field of vision didn't include his accusing gaze, she could pretend this was all a bad dream. She would wake up, and her father would be on a business trip far, far away from here. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, ignoring her protests and pooling before rolling down her cheeks. "I'm… I'm sorry." She didn't know what else to say. She didn't even know how to placate her own father. Steeling herself, she finally raised her eyes, preparing to deal with the hand her fate had dealt her.

But, before she could begin, Stahl held up a hand. "Weiss. Why on _Remnant_ would I be angry at you?"

Weiss's thoughts derailed, her surprise at the sheer concern her father was radiating quite obvious. "You… hate faunus. like Grandfather…?"

"I'm not my father, Weiss." Stahl said with a sigh, face hardening sternly. "And I admit, I do hate the White Fang for what it has done, especially considering I had supported it myself. But that's besides the point. Are you okay? How did you become a faunus? Is it dangerous?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Weiss replied placatingly before he asked another question, her mind still reeling from the situation. "Perfectly okay aside from cat ears and a tail. The mission against the White Fang… Apparently they had been working on weaponizing a virus that could turn humans into Faunus using their Aura against them."

Stahl cupped his hands in his lap, thinking. " It probably would've worked, had they used it. Good work on stopping that then, I suppose. But what about a cure?"

"Miss Arc is working on it. One of Jaune's sisters, that is." Weiss spoke simply. "She has Rouge's- What I have as a faunus, now." Weiss's ears and tail twitched for emphasis.

"So she's familiar with it…" He idly typed onto his Scroll, messaging Ozpin. "I'll pay her a visit later or…. ask for her to see me. As good as she may be, I doubt she could do much with just Beacon's infirmary supplies and a handful of nurses compared to a dedicated research station."

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, and they opened to reveal Blake, Yang and Ruby, all doing their best to look presentable, though their uncomfortable glances at the imposing man gave away their emotions. "Uh, hey Weiss." Yang scratched her own head as she moved to the chairs and took a seat. "Is this your…?"

"My father, yes." Weiss smiled, showing her relief at the previous events, and Stahl returned the look. "Father, I'd like you to meet my team: This is Yang, Ruby, and you've already seen Blake."

"It's an honor to make your… ahm… association, Mr. Schnee-Company-sir." Ruby floundered for socially acceptable words, failing in the most Ruby-esque way.

Stahl laughed." It's a pleasure, Ruby. Though just 'Mr. Stahl' would suffice." He turned to Weiss in amusement. "I seem to remember you using a very similar introduction when you met Commander Powell… How long ago was that? You couldn't have been more than four years old."

"F-father!" Weiss blushed.

Blake glanced up at Weiss's revealed Faunus ears. "So does this mean you've got it straightened out?"

"Of course," Stahl fixed his gaze on Blake, causing her to flinch slightly. "Am I to understand that you were the one that helped my daughter hide this secret from me?" Before Blake could answer, Stahl bowed his head. "Then I thank you. Although it was unnecessary, you have proven that you care for my daughter deeply as a friend. She is lucky to have you all at her side."

Yang relaxed in her chair, her eyes staying on Stahl at all times with an ever present suspicion. "We all are. And nobody is going to change that. Sir."

"I have no intention of damaging my own daughter's team. As well as hurting her relationship with her friends. I recently discovered from Weiss during our discussion that the White Fang led to this circumstance. I am truly sorry, both for my own failing and for the SDC not being aware of that operation." He smiled charmingly, and Yang relaxed slightly and eased back from him. "Now then, could one of you have Ozpin send Luna to me?"

"Gotta say, thought I'd have to break your face for bein' mean to our Weissicle." Yang smiled in her usual way, easing her weight back on a leg, amused by the older man's perplexed expression.

"Yang, don't threaten Weiss' dad!" Ruby whined, smacking her arm and glaring at her," It's rude!"

"Seems like she's been rubbing off on you." Blake added simply, smiling and turning to the older Schnee," Just message the Headmaster, I'm sure he'll-"

"Already on her way. actually." Ozpin said coolly from the door, striding into the apartment calmly," She'll be on her way momentarily. I told her about what you were wanting to discuss, so she and Jaune are gathering her work so far and coming here."

"Good to hear." Stahl smiled at Weiss thinly, though she knew it to be an amused look," I would so enjoy meeting him."

A few seconds afterwards, the door opened, and Luna stepped in holding a small sealed plastic container, some gel-like fluid inside it and a sealed test tube held in the center.

"Mr Schnee, a pleasure." she greeted, gently setting it down on the table in front of him as Jaune entered, holding two more containers and setting them down. Each and every one of them was quite clearly labelled with a biohazard symbol.

"What are these?" Blake asked with a bit of curiosity, brows quirking lightly.

Luna pointed at a container holding three test tubes, each of them with a white gas inside of them, then a container with ten test tubes, a milky white fluid, and finally a container with a sole test tube, filled with a few millimeters worth of reddish fluid. "Active samples of the virus," Luna began, pointing to each of the vials in turn as she spoke. "Neutralized samples of the virus, and finally the cure. At least, the most I could make. It's barely an eighth of what I need for a single dose."

"I don't need all of the miniscule details, just tell me what you will need from me to get this cure up and running." Stahl said simply, nodding at Jaune with a calculating look in his eyes, "I can move whatever resources you need to this project."

"W-what? I- I mean, that's… Can I have access to your pathogen labs? I know how to make the cure, it's just a simple material, space, and supply flaw."

"Done. If you don't mind also selling the cure to the SDC as well, of course. Imagine what we could do with it…"

"Wait, you mean you're going to take it and weaponize it?" Luna blinked in shock as everyone, save Stahl and Weiss, instantly went on edge at the implications.

"No, no. I'd say one million lien would be enough for you. And no, you have my word- The SDC will not weaponize it for use against anyone save as a cure for the White Fang's attacks."

Luna's eyes slowly widened as she realized what he was saying. "You'd buy it from me… For one million lien?"

"If it works, of course, but considering you've produced it and have the original virus I'm sure that could be proven very quickly." He smiled simply, reassuringly, and took a sip of his drink while he relaxed a bit.

"And what do you intend to do with it?" Luna, ever suspicious of everyone who she or family didn't know, especially a Schnee, out of habit, asked quietly.

"I intend to sell a product to half-faunus and faunus-born-humans so that, if they wish to, they can become like their parents or siblings. Much like Mr Arc here."

"That's a very small market." Blake pointed out as she slowly unwrapped her own ears."You'll never make money off of that."

"Merely offering it is simple enough. And it has a side effect of rendering the White Fang's virus easily remedied. That is a win for me." Stahl smiled gently.

Luna nodded, satisfied. "That seems reasonable enough for now…"

"I don't expect you to have an answer for me immediately. In fact, I'd be suspicious of foul play if you did. Just think about it. But for now, you are trying to help my daughter, even if that is a secondary motive." Stahl stood, stretching slightly. "Now then. I believe that this is settled. Weiss," He turned to his daughter. "Although it was mostly taken up by this predicament, I am glad I could take the time to see you." Stahl nodded to Ozpin, turning on his heel to leave. As he did so, Weiss stood, calling after him.

"Father!"

Mr. Schnee turned and smiled faintly at his daughter. "Yes, Weiss?"

"Umm… Thank you." Weiss finished sheepishly, not really knowing which of the dozens of things she had floating through her head to say to him.

"You don't have to thank me for anything. Just try to let me know what's going on with you more often. I am doing my duty as a father while I can. Because," He added with a tinge of sadness as he walked out, "Gods only know I haven't been there enough."


	16. Chapter 16

**Twisted~ I got bit by a spoder, guys!**

 **Mika~ Oh Nu!**

 **Twisted~ I shall be Spoder man!**

 **Mika~ Spoder man, spoder man~**

 **Twisted~ But yeah, I slept for like… fourteen hours. Ugh. And my head hurts. Meh.**

 **Mika~ Yours? I got a concussion!**

 **Twisted~ Oh nu!**

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **Blake Belladonna-**_

"The Vytal festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!"

Ruby's ears twitched as she spoke up. "I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much, Weiss." She gave a slight frown. "It's kinda weirding me out..."

"How could you _not_ smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances! Parades! A Tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!" Weiss gushed, her tail sharing the sentiments as it whipped through the air happily.

"You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring." Yang observed, grimacing slightly.

"Quiet, you!" Weiss shot back heatedly, glaring slightly at her for a moment.

"Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon visiting the stupid docks? I mean, it does smell good..." Yang said, her mouth beginning to water as her lion ears twitched in pleasure, the near-ever present scent of fish permeating the air. ".. But still!"

"They smell like fish!" Ruby countered with a groan, covering her nose sadly and pouting. "It's yuck."

"I'm kinda hungry, actually." Blake admitted, giving a small moan inwardly as she caught the alluring smell of tuna on the air, a fishing boat sailing past the docks slowly.

"I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today. And, as a _representative_ of Beacon, I feel as though it is my _solemn_ duty to welcome them to this _fine_ kingdom!" Weiss said calmly, smiling brightly.

"She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament if she fights them." Blake said simply, suppressing a smirk.

"You can't prove that!" Weiss defended with a scoff, waving her off with a flick of her tail.

"You just did." Blake shot back with a smile, patting her on the shoulder as an excuse to touch her. "It's fine, we know you're odd."

Ruby's ears twitched as she noticed something capable of attracting her attention for more than a few minutes, turning to face it. "Woah…"

 _ **Jaune Arc-**_

"Jaune!" Nyx cried, glomping her elder brother happily as soon as the dorm door opened. " **Did ya miss me?** " "I missed you!"

"Jaune." Celeste greeted, entering the room with Jacques calmly holding her hand and guiding her, with an exasperated look on her face. " **I'm blind, dear, not crippled. Please, Dust, stop henning over me."** "How are you, dear?"

"Jaune, my boy!" Jacques Arc said, watching as Celeste moved closer to Jaune. "So… You enrolled in Beacon and took Crocea Mors without asking." " **Dumbass…"**

"Sorry about that… Are you still angry about it?" Jaune idly asked, rubbing his neck anxiously and dreading the answer.

"Nope. Just wanted to visit my son at Beacon, see how he's doing, see if he's hooked up with any lil' cuties yet." " **Spread that Arc love all over the world, my boy!"** Jacques said with a smile and a crinkle to his blue eyes, reaching up to stroke his goatee curiously.

Jacques was wearing a rather typical set of armor for Menagerie's Hunters, given both the nature of the topography of the rather rugged area and the preferred fast paced methods of dealing with aggressors, typically of the black and furry persuasion. Much like Jaune's own armor, Jacques favored a combination of as light and as protective as possible. White greaves and gloves with golden trim and matching pauldrons on his shoulders and hips, the latter having a long off-white ivory-colored cloth hanging down off the center of the waist to hide the belt the plates attached to and a matching, if wider, one on the back both trimmed in gold with the Arc symbol stitched into the cloth elegantly.

Menagerie also tended to be rather chilly at times, hence Jaune's typically wearing a hoodie wherever he went, and Jacques showed that as well with a large, long and heavy light brown trench coat, coat belt hanging off each side at his waist comfortably and relaxedly, and a circle on his back of white for the Arc emblem to be inscribed once more on the protective leather. Underneath that he wore a simple enough black shirt made of thick wool, and under _that_ he wore protective and light chainmail, made of the metals mined of the very earth under and around Menagerie itself, that showed on his upper arms where his long coat's sleeves had been removed.

His greatsword, _Chanson Sanglante_ , was sheathed on his back, built much like Crocea Mors if the far-off Arc ancestor hadn't decided to make it a hand-and-a half. It had the same coloration as Jaune's own sheath and Jacques' armor, white and traced with gold. The guard of the blade itself had a large white gem embedded in the center, the Arc crescent visible on it brightly.

"So, where is your team, Jaune. I wanna meet them!" Nyx said, smiling broadly and bumping into him," C'mooooon!" " **They're probably big, and strong, and heroic! Like you and Dad!"**

"On their way. Nora saw a pancake restaurant so they had to stop… Twice. Should pop in in a little bit though, so, uh, watch out for the hyper little redhead." Jaune shuddered, patting his sister's head and trying to pry her off of him," The shorter haired one."

"Nora is, indeed, quite the ball of energy. Which is why I left her with Ren after the _third_ pancake pit stop." Jaune smiled, turning to look over Nyx's shoulder to see Pyrrha stepping into the dorm and smiling at him," And who is this?" " **Is this your family? Someone is moving fast~"**

"My name is Celeste, and this is my husband Jacques. We're Jaune's parents." The woman said quietly, walking carefully to Jaune's bed and sitting on it," Hello." " **Mistralian voice, firm, kind. Slight northern accent… Stranger then."**

"And this is my little sis, Nyx." The girl poked her head out of Jaune's hug to smile broadly at the redhead, and Jaune chuckled," She's a hugger, as you can see, so she's not likely to let me go for a bit."

"Sad thing, that, I was looking forward to a hug." Pyrrha teased, smiling." **I'm not a secret girlfriend, Jaune. And you do seem to enjoy your secrets a good bit, love."** "It's good to meet her, and your parents, all the same though. I am-"

"Pyrrha Nikos! You and Jaune are friends?" Jacques interrupted brightly, smiling as wide as he could," Impressive!" " **Oh, Dust, please tell me she's where my grandkids are going to come from in a few years."**

"Actually, I'm his partner. And his girlfriend besides. I… Had hoped for some manner of forewarning before meeting-"

"His girlfriend?!" Nyx howled excitedly, flying from her brother and slamming into the unprepared Mistralian champion and nearly toppling her," Oh my Dust, you're his girlfriend? Yay!" " **I'm gonna be an aunt in a few years at this rate… I hope they have lots of kids!"**

"Good work, Jaune, catching none other than Pyrrha Nikos! You make the Arc name proud. Haha!" The large man took a step towards his son, clapping him on the shoulder heavily enough to nearly down him, and looked at the unwillingly cuddling Pyrrha," Good to meet ya." " **A red haired Arc….. Eh, it could happen."**

"Likewise, Mr Arc. It's pleasurable to see- Meet! It's pleasurable to meet you!" Pyrrha corrected nervously, smiling slightly," It's good to meet all of you." " **Jaune, help, please."**

Much to Pyrrha's surprise, Celeste simply chuckled. "Pyrrha, I was born blind. Nothing short of a brain transplant can fix it, so just relax. How can I be sensitive about something I've never experienced myself? I hope you don't mind if I touch your face? Nyx has her Semblance, but I must see you the old fashioned way." " **I hope she is a good match for Jaune..."**

"I suppose it would be alright… If this one could release me, of course." Pyrrha muttered, petting the girl's head and ruffling her ears. " **Please… My tail… Sensitive… "**

"Alright, that's enough of that, Nyxie. Let mom see her too." Jaune said calmly, walking over to her and poking her back lightly," Come on, let her go."

"No." Nyx squeaked out, cuddling close and grabbing at the fluffy tail on Pyrrha's behind. "Bunny is cute. Bunny is all mine." " **Fluffy..."**

"Why don't you go see my other friend, Nora? She's a bunny too. Probably down in the cafeteria by now, it's pancake day. And you can have pancakes too…" Jaune smirked, knowing her weaknesses was quite nice indeed.

"Pancakes?" Nyx's eyes widened, her mouth watering. "Pancakes~!" Jaune chuckled when she shot away, the door smacking against the wall as she went.

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow at Jaune. " **Pancake lover? Nora's gonna get along famously with her, assuming they don't start a fight over the last one."** Jaune shrugged, motioning Pyrrha over to his mother.

"You have very strong features… But you smile often, don't you?" Celeste's fingers touched Pyrrha's forehead, moving to her nose, lips and cheeks. After a moment, her hands moved away, and she smiled. "Now then, I can officially say, 'It's nice to see you'." Celeste laughed lightly at her ironic statement. "I'm sure Jaune and you get along wonderfully, don't you? Jaune, you're treating her right?" " **Dust she is gorgeous! And nice, wide hips too..."**

"Mom…" Jaune groaned, "Of course I treat her right. You raised me, after all. And I'm not dumb enough not to appreciate someone like her." He glanced to Pyrrha, her face reddening at the comment.

A faint smile rested on Pyrrha's lips. " **She seems like a real care-bear, huh? Don't worry, Jaune. I won't tell her about most of the stuff that goes on with us, okay?"** Jaune rolled his eyes at her, but said nothing more. "I… Appreciate your compliments, ma'am."

"Oh hush with the over politeness and sit with me, talk for a while. My husband has business with the Headmaster and I would appreciate the company while Jaune goes to collect his sister." " **Time to get to know the future daughter... "** Jaune almost groaned but managed to bite it down at the last moment.

Jaune shot Pyrrha an apologetic look, and she pouted at him lightly, and he turned to walk out of the room. The cafeteria was clear across campus, so he turned to go across the deserted courtyard. Well, the _mostly_ deserted courtyard, rather.

Blake stared up at the statue of the _Very_ late Arc grandfather silently, almost contemplatively, with her ears twitching atop her head and her tail curled protectively around her like a belt. she sighed sadly, turning to look down at something in her hand. It looked like an armband or something like that, a blue one.

"Blake?" Jaune softly said while he took a step towards her, as she looked up to see him in surprise. "What are you doing out here? Is… something wrong?" She simply stared, stunned for one reason or another, and he saw a foot angle away from him for an escape.

"J-Jaune?" " **No, no, not you too…. First Weiss and now…"** "What is it? Why are you out here?" He sighed tiredly, looking at her in frustration. Things had been going so well too for them. "Blake, talk to me. We're friends."

Blake gave a tired, anxious sigh and stroked a hand across her tail soothingly. "Alright… I guess." " **How am I going to explain this..."**

"Is there anywhere we can… Talk privately?" Jaune asked patiently, smiling calmly. "I get the feeling you want whatever this is to be secret so…" Blake simply smiled, having the perfect idea in mind.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Twisted~ It is chapter. You is happy I hope. Smiley faces?**


	17. Chapter 17

**Twisted~ And this chapter is brought to you by Nyquil and Redbull. Two things I have been told not to mix, but did tonight anyway. Joking, of course! I think that'd kill my kidneys…**

 **Mika~ Hello!**

 **Twisted~ Hullo! People think we write these ANs when we're drunk or something, by the way. Untrue! We are simply insane. Now excuse me for a moment, the dragons in the kitchen are arguing.**

 **Mika~ You know that they like toast with honey, right?**

 **Twisted~ No, actually, no I did not. Will keep that in mind. Also, babies are exhausting. Fun fact. Oh! And I don't have a thing for Doll, Mika!**

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Blake took a small sip of her tea, lost in thought as Jaune sipped at his own and quietly listened in. He rather disliked spying in this manner, but if it helped Blake he'd do whatever he needed to. " **How am I going to tell him…"**

"Blake. Now I know something's wrong, and I'm sure you don't look forward to talking about it, but I need to know what is actually wrong before I can help.." Jaune said with a hint of concern as she sighed, lowering her voice to a faunus whisper.

"Weiss and I… We got into an argument. Things got heated really fast, and well… I let it slip that I was a White Fang member after they turned more violent." Jaune groaned internally, looking at her sadly. " **I ruined everything…"**

"And she was hurt by it?" Jaune asked equally lowly, frowning and setting his tea aside. "You're sure she was hurt? You need to be sure, Blake. Overreacting now could do a lot more damage than whatever you've actually done."

"Mostly the fact that I hadn't told any of them…" Blake sighed tiredly, looking anywhere but at Jaune," I just… Jaune, I did things to people I regret a lot. Bad, nasty things. Things I didn't want them to know about me doing. And with what the Fang is doing now..." " **How could they accept what I've done..."**

Jaune sighed, leaning back and looking up at the clouds for a few long seconds while he thought," Blake, they're your friends. They'll forgive you for whatever horrible things you did. Just tell them."

"Have you told your friends about things you did in the White Fang, Jaune? Have you told your precious girlfriend all about all the things you did?" Jaune stiffened, inhaling sharply, and he refused to look at her for a moment. "So how can you tell me to do what you would not? I didn't slate you for a hypocrite."

"...You're right. I haven't told her some of the other things I did later in my time, I even lied and said I never was a violent member at all…" He grimaced slightly, sighing," Then I'll tell them everything. All of it. If you tell your team the same." He looked back at her, smiling warmly.

Blake sighed, looking at the floor forlornly. "I was an Infiltrator, Jaune…" " **I've killed people..."** "I did a lot of combat jobs."

"I was a Firebat." Jaune said honestly, and Blake's eyes widened. A firebat's job was simple- Cause chaos. Firebomb buildings and businesses that were anti-faunus, entice peaceful protests to become full-blown riots, anything that could cause violence to ensue. "You… can imagine what I did frequently enough, Blake."

"You… Wanna go walk and talk for a while?" Blake said, averting her eyes nervously."Maybe see a few stragglers from the other schools, get something to eat or… Something? " **Here's hoping I can tell him how I feel…"**

Jaune leaned back, his food finished, as he did his utmost to not blush or anything of the sort," Could go walk down by the docks, see if the fishing boats have anything good you might want to pick out to take home."

They spent the rest of the day just… Walking around until night fell, talking about everything that people talked about to fill silence. Books, movies, music, the weather and so on. Jaune knew she had something to tell him, and further her knew what it was, but Blake was too nervous about it to broach it as of yet and Jaune was content to let her wait it out.

Eventually, the sun fell and people started to desert the docks, and they found a nice spot next to the water to talk where they could see the stars shining in the sky. They'd been sitting silently for a while, simply relaxing, when Blake opened her mouth to say something… And a trio of Bullheads swept low over the water a ways away from them, too low for standard military or Hunters and too late for fishing businesses to be allowed to fly anything in Vale's airspace, much less full-on Bullheads.

The two shared a look - Blake confused and Jaune anxious - and followed in the direction the craft had gone quietly and stealthily, owing both to their new natures and to their shared training in equal measure. Blake at least had brought her weapons, but Jaune had not so when they eventually came around the corner, watching what were obviously White Fang soldiers load up Schnee crates and Jaune frowned.

"They're stealing crates, labelled as being from the Schnee Dust Company…" Jaune sighed, kneeling and glaring at the nearest member," Gimme a moment, okay?"

"A moment for what, Jaun-"

"Just a moment of silence!" He snapped tightly, turning his head ever so slightly and staring ahead intensely. The closest member was a sentry, at the very furthest reaches of his ability to 'read', so he needed to focus just to get a chance at catching anything.

" **...fucking Torchwick, keep calling us animals and I'll gut you no matter what Taurus says."** The Fang soldier rubbed his head lightly after a second, just as Jaune withdrew," **Feels like someone is watching me…"**

Jaune slumped back when the connection broke, Blake practically catching him, and glared ahead of him," They're here for Torchwick, probably stealing Dust for some plan or another of his. Mentioned someone named Taurus, too, you know that name? It sounds familiar"

" **Than man… always following me wherever I run…"** "Yes, I… knew him. I'll tell you later, right now we need to put a stop to this. Whatever Torchwick could possibly want with an entire load of Schnee cargo, it isn't going to be a good thing for anyone that matters." She grabbed Gambol Shroud of her back, the blade extending into its combat mode easily," Thats a lot of people to fight though…"

"Yeah, it is… Take your sword-pistol, I'll have to borrow your machete until I can get my hand on a couple of the swords they're carrying. Yo go in by yourself and you're dead, so at least I can back you up." She nodded, handing off her machete-sheath to him and he stood up slowly with it, testing the weight in his hand," You're the stealthiest, sneak in and see if you can get rid of anyone on overwatch. I'll join once the real fighting starts."

She grimaced but nodded and forced down her agitation at handing off part of her weapon to anyone, slipping further back around the corner and scrabbling up the wall beside them, using the windows and ledges to climb up easily enough, though Jaune had no clue how anyone at all could climb like that so easily. Rather soon, she disappeared from sight on the roof entirely, and Jaune patiently waited for several minutes while Blake did her work.

After around ten minutes, she dropped back down next to him - startling him slightly - and offered him one of the barbed swords, snatching back the machete sheath possessively," Half-dozen down, one of the wanderers roaming about will find one of them no doubt so-"

"We got a bunch of guys down on the roof, boss! What do we do?" Jaune sighed, peeking back around the corner cautiously and motioning - needlessly, judging from her light glare - for the black cat to be quiet while he watched Roman Torchwick himself sauntered out of one of the Bullheads.

Jaune saw him say something, but he wasn't able to hear it at that distance - drowned out by the engines of the multiple Bullheads - and the White Fang members started dispersing to look for them, most carrying swords either for the quiet of it or because they hadn't brought many rifles, while Torchwick himself stood stock still, head swivelling to look around slowly to watch his goons search for whoever was mucking about with his precious plans.

Jaune wasn't going to wait for them to be found and pinned down though, instead smiling almost viciously at Blake," Cover me and handle the grunts, okay? Torchwick is mine." He had great disdain for every single person who had corrupted the White Fang's purpose, perverting it. He didn't know all of the ones responsible, but he intended to find out and _end it._

He didn't wait for Blake to respond, fearing an argument that would waste time, and instead stepped around the corner and smashed his sword's guard into a grunt's face and sweeping a leg between his, cracking his nose and throwing him to the ground for Blake to finish off with a kick. No need to kill anyone they didn't need to, at least to her opinions.

Juan parried the next bladesman, reading his thoughts like an open book and easily downing him with a slash across the backs of his legs to hamstring him. Blake knocked him out as easily as she had been doing thus far, her back slamming into Jaune's protectively while he glared at an amused looking Roman.

"Honestly, what are you two doing?" He smiled cockily, sauntering a couple steps towards them," You're _Faunus_ and I work for the White Fang! We're on the same side here, in case you hadn't realized." " **Dumb damn animals, too stupid to know whose side they're on."** "So kindly put down the pointy object and start loading Dust, 'kay fluffy?"

Jaune didn't say a word, bumping his elbow meaningfully against Blake's off hand. She grunted in response and a second later both shot apart, the cat Faunus immediately engaging as many of the Grunts as she could handle without having to kill them, something she had done since the beginning of the time after she had left the Fang.

Of course, this did slow her down, so one of the Fang soldiers managed to slip by her, and she swung her sword at Jaune's back viciously. He turned so it missed and she stumbled past him, not even needing his Semblance to predict such novice attacks, and slashed across her back. The woman, back torn open, stumbled and fell beside Roman with a surprised grunt, and he simply looked at her in surprise and raised an eyebrow at the young man in front of him.

"Well… I have to admit, that is rather surprising behavior. Didn't think one of you kiddies would be so quick to kill someone, especially given that the kitty cat is actively avoiding it." " **Oum, damn it all! Now I got a murderous blonde on top of everything else to deal with."** Roman sighed, pulling a cigar from his pocket and shoving it into his mouth," Look, kid, just tell me what gets rid of you so I can go about my business."

"You have nothing I could want, Roman. Well, nothing aside from information we both know you'd never give up." He lifted his sword up, blade vertical towards Roman, and the criminal shrugged and bobbed his head back and forth in an offhanded affirmation of the blonde's claim," And I have better things to do than waste time trying to convince you to open up to me."

It had been some time since Jaune ever honestly, completely desired a fight. Even now, holding the sword in his hand and watching Roman for any movement, he didn't understand in the slightest why he was so damned _angry._ After a moment, he simply stopped caring for now and smiled at Roman coolly. With a sharp inhale, he shot at the criminal and aimed a slash across his chest.

Roman of course deflected the rather predictable strike, trying to counter with a punch that Jaune stepped into, letting the first slide over his shoulder. Jaune then grabbed the offending arm, wrenching it over his head to the side to try and off balance him. Roman went with it, spinning and slamming the side of his cane into Jaune's head faster than he could register the other man's thoughts and predict his moves. Perhaps if he'd had his own shield and sword, he could have defended more properly but right now…

Roman turned the cane back towards him, and Jaune managed to deflect the first couple swings easily enough before the criminal tried for a kick to his stomach and - when Jaune threw his hips away and off balanced himself without thinking - slammed the handle down on the back of his head, spinning it around again and firing a flare straight into the blonde's chest that exploded with enough force to hurl him away, skidding across the cement painfully, chest burnt and back scraped horribly on the cement, leaving ribbons of torn shirt and sloughed-off skin on the pavement, a few streaks of blood visible.

Blake saw him go down and shot to his side almost instantly, grabbing his arm and pulling him onto her shoulder," Jaune, are you alright?" " **Shit…"**

"No, w-we need to get out of here or call for help or something," Jaune coughed painfully, feeling an obviously cracked rib shift painfully when Blake shifted against him and watched Roman saunter towards the duo, twirling his cane playfully.

"Well then, kiddies, I'd say it's about time for you all to take a nice, long nap." He levelled the cane at the duo, flanked by a couple of the still-standing Fang grunts," Nighty night." " **Oum damn kids always making problems…"** Jaune rolled the two of them to the side to protect Blake, and Roman's eyes widened and he sidestepped one of three green and silver swords, the other two stabbing into the grunt's chests hard enough to crack the pavement when they, and the blades, slammed into it, and Jaune blinked when an orange haired girl in a green dress dropped down in front of him with Ruby right behind her.

The brunette turned to him with a smile, though the worry at his injuries was evident besides," Jaune? Blake? You guys okay?" " **You better be! Yang would kill Weiss if Blake was hurt..."**

"We're okay, Ruby." Blake said quietly, and Jaune nodded weakly before he started to slide back to the ground," Well, mostly anyway." " **Burns are bad, but he should be fine in the long run… He tried to shield me though… That could have killed him outright."**

Jaune elected to ignore her, instead leaning against the building behind them and glaring at Roman from behind the two younger looking girls in front of them while Roman seemed to think for several seconds before smirking," Well, well ladies, looks like you've got me outnumbered… So how about a deal? You let me leave with my ships _or_ when we start fighting, I make sure to target little mister crispy there." " **Oum damned freakish kids!"**

"You really think you can beat all three of us?" Ruby asked, and the orange haired girl gave her a look before smiling and recalling her blades, the collective of them spinning in a small circle behind her. Jaune's eyes narrowed when he looked at her and, for the first time, couldn't read _anything_ whatsoever. Not even a basic guide of what she was thinking. "We can kick your booty, jerkface!" " **Jerkface! Yeah!"**

"I'd say two, actually, since the little kitty cat there isn't quite in top shape," true to Roman's word, the brunette Faunus seemed tired and favored her left leg rather heavily, meaning she was indeed injured," but yeah, you'd beat me. Eventually. But only after I killed your little friend there, and probably the little kitty cat too if I get my aim right." " **And I** _ **always**_ **get my aim right, brats…"**

Ruby seemed to think for several long seconds before sighing and taking a step back to further protect Jaune, accidentally giving him a rather illicit view from his position though he did his utmost to ignore it," Fine, jerkface, get out of here." " **Meany face…"** Roman simply chuckled, and sauntered away onto a Bullhead before waving at them as it took to the air," Cops should be on their way by the way, Jaune."

And he let his eyes slipped closed to rest, until they arrived.

"So, let me get this straight…" Weiss said with a small sigh, rubbing her temple therapeutically, the combined teams of RWBY and JNPR have gathered in place. as soon as they "You, Blake, are a former Infiltrator of the White Fang."

"Yes." Blake said simply, her head lowered and her ears flattened sadly in anxiety.

"And You, Jaune, are also a former Firebug of the White Fang. For less time, admittedly, but still for two years."

"Yes." He muttered, mirroring Blake's own actions.

Weiss sighed at Jaune's answer. " **I'm in love with this idiot…"** "You know what? I don't care. You're no longer members, that's it. There's not a single thing I care about beyond that."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Mika~ So. Here's a few answers for people: The Arc family's Semblance theme is the Mind.**

 **Known Arc Semblances-**

 **Jaune- Telepathy. (Mind reading.)**

 **Nyx- Aerokinesis. (Control of Air, Wind Currents, and Air Pressure. Can "See" in 50 yard distance*. Vulnerable to sonic weapons. Immune to blinding weapons.**

 **Luna- Cryokinesis. (Control of Ice** and cold. Immune to cold temperatures. Weak in dry/hot areas, such as a Desert .)**

 **Flare- Pyrokinesis. (Control of Flames** and heat. Immune to hot temperatures. Weak in cold/wet areas, such as a Taiga.)**

 **Celeste- ?**

 **Jacques- ?**

 **(*Half a US football field.)**

 **(**And related objects, such as Snow for Luna and Steam for Flare. Both can control water particles & water and freeze/heat them at will.) **


	18. Chapter 18

**Mika~ So, this is just a bit after the previous chapter.**

 **Twisted~ Interrupting cow! XD Also, Mika is being teh shy again.**

 **Mika~ Am not!**

 **Twisted~ Are too. Now shush or I will sick my newly trained kitchen dragons on you.**

 **Mika~ *Licks***

 **Twisted~ *recoils* Nu! Bad Mika!**

 **Mika~ A Pseudo-loli just licked you. What now?**

 **Twisted~... I don't actually know. I think you win this round. Anyway, this chapter is just a bit different. Little bits of what Jaune has been up to between volumes one and two, timeline wise. Not as detailed and important, just kind of... snap shots of events.**

 ***A Chibi Kitty, Aka Chitty, runs up and scratches Twisted 23 times for bad grammar. A Chibi Foxxie follows, clamping onto Mika's leg for the same.***

 **Twisted~ Owee~**

 **Mika~ Getoffgetoffgetoff!**

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Volume 1 End**

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Damnit Jaune, they're flanking us!" Jaune rolled his eyes, smiling at the Schnee lightly. They'd commandeered the community room for themselves, the heiress outright paying everyone else to leave. "Come on you stupid blonde git! Move!"

"Three enemies under the bridge. Get the Station, I'll flank, problem solved." Jaune said calmly as he knifed an enemy. He jumped down off the sniper's post, parachuting, as the rest of his squad, a few people he had just met with mikes, yelled for them to siege the Comms station and the entire squad started running.

Firing his shotgun, he ran to the MCOM, starting to arm it as one of his teammates ran ahead, getting sniped by a sniper but saving Jaune in the same moment. Another ran into the line of fire, his shield at the ready, as he squeezed up to protect Jaune as much as possible.

Weiss gave a groan of relief as the bomb detonated, destroying that MCOM station.

"Alright, let's move up."

"Here, I'll help you up." Luna said, panting slightly as she sheathed her borrowed practice sword and offered Jaune her hand, which he happily took, allowing her to pull him back to his feet. Jaune needed a sparring partner, and Pyrrha had been busy, so instead Luna had borrowed the sword to help him a bit herself.

"Thanks, Sis…" Jaune said as he returned to his position.

"Are you sure you still want to do this?" Luna said, not having moved an inch.

"I'm sure. I need to get stronger. If Ruby and the others weren't there..." Jaune let the sentence trail off as Luna sighed, her gloved, weaponless left hand brushing against her face. They both understood what he meant, it was after all why they were training even now.

"If you insist…" " **Stubborn."** Luna said, walking to her starting position and drawing her sword."Three."

"Two." Jaune said, as Luna unsheathed her sword slightly in preparation as she always did.

"One." They both said at once.

Jaune raised his shield, blocking the savage blow that came from her sword. Her sword's small bladed overhang came down on his shield like a pincer, forcing it down. " **Wonder if the store's selling those blueberry muffins…"**

Luna's fist darted out, slamming into his jaw, and quickly retreated as Jaune pushed against Luna. A small grimace appeared on her face as she started to favor her injured leg, her hand pressing against his shield and his sword locked by Luna's.

She slipped to the side, flipping him over her shoulder and eventually sighing.

"You dumbass…" Luna swore, sheathing her sword as she offered a hand to him and tried to keep her weight off her aching leg. "Training's over for today. That hurt…" " **Damn leg is killing me…"**

"Trashy excuse for a book!" Blake said, throwing a new copy of Daylight out of the window.

"What was it about?" Jaune asked in idle curiosity, peering behind her at the window in curiosity. "Couldn't be that bad, to throw out a book like that."

"Some Half-grimm/Faunus love triangle for a personalityless Main. Complete bullshit. Apparently, Grimm sparkle in sunlight. And Faunus can become larger versions of their animals." " **If only that were true..."** Blake pouted, hard enough that Jaune almost laughed, and started rifling through the bookcase for something else to read," Waste of money…"

Blake gave a groan of disbelief and frustration, leaning further over the edge of her bed away from Jaune to look at the shelves. "I've read all of these books…" Jaune tried so very hard not to stare.

"You want to go shopping for some?" Jaune asked with a light sigh. He knew she was hinting at that, may as well jump to it.

"Yes." Blake immediately said, a twinkle in her eye as she turned her head to look at Jaune past her own hips. "I would very much enjoy going shopping for new books, Jaune." " **Bellabooty works every time~."**

 **~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Skip~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

A few hours later, they left the tenth bookstore of the evening, Jaune absolutely weighed down with every and any book Blake seemed even remotely interested in in the slightest. The only thing not burdening him horribly right that instant was, of course, his wallet.

Blake kept her peace until they returned to the dorms and she took the bags herself, smiling at him brightly before she dipped beyond her door. A few seconds later, it opened again, and Blake gave him a quick kiss as the door closed again.

He smiled, turning around to go and get some food. "Bellabooty works everytime…."

"Jaune, come on, we're going on a date," Pyrrha said brightly, leaning in the door of their form for a moment until he reacted and turned to her," I'll be waiting by the landing pads for you."

And then she was gone, the door slamming closed behind her, and Jaune turned to look at Ren who was reading his book with Nora cuddling against his chest happily," What just happened?"

"I do believe you were just drafted into a date, Jaune. Just go with it, you two are all about spontaneity anyways." Ren shrugged, licking his finger and turning a page in his book coolly.

"Run along now, make some mini-Jaunes!" Nora crowed happily, smiling at him brightly before returning to her spot," I'm hungry, Ren,"

Jaune blinked, looked at his half-done homework for a few seconds, then sighed and stood up to head for the door and then to the landing pad. Just like she'd said she would be, Pyrrha was waiting for him down by the landing pads in her uniform, just like he was. She smiled, he smiled, and then he followed her onto a Bullhead that was headed into Vale proper without another word.

Attending Beacon meant that everyone was almost always busy, especially lower year students as the first year at Beacon focused more on knowledge than on outright combat. As a result, it was relatively rare to be able to go out like this, and they usually did it whenever Pyrrha got done with all of her work because she could help Jaune catch up quickly whenever they returned.

"Yes?" Luna spoke aloud into her scroll, the entirety of teams JNPR and RWBY present in the medical room. "That's great news, Mister Schnee… I'll be sure to tell them... Oh, no, you flatter me." Luna closed her scroll, smiling slightly as she faced the small group of teens. "Good news! The cure's been okayed. Bad news- This is the first time it's been tested on a live human. Faunus. Whatever you see yourself as. It's time to start thinking about what to do." " **This conversation is going to be fun. I can just tell."**

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked with a flick of her tail, confused. " **I wish my story books told me about all this..."**

"I mean that, should you decide, you don't have to turn back. 'Course, so far Beacon's managed to hide the whole Faunus thing very well, but they can't do it forever. Eventually something will slip out of the cracks." Luna sighed, gesturing at the group with a wave. "So it's up to you to decide what you want to happen going forward."

"So I can get rid of this tail, be a regular Faunus instead of a Rouge's Faunus?" Blake asked, as Luna fidgeted nervously in her seat, suddenly shy. " **Shit… Was hoping I could explain it to her…"**

"This form of Faunus Retro-Morpheus is incurable for Faunus themselves, if they get it. No type of treatment can distinguish between the original Faunus DNA and the new, Rouges infected version." Luna sighed sadly, gesturing at her own twitching ears. "It's why I, myself, can't take it either and change into a normal Faunus or a Human. The two kinds of DNA are too similar, it can't tell the difference." " **Not that I'd change these anyways, I like them…"**

Blake blinked owlishly as her hands gently moved to her tail, stroking it gingerly. "Oh… Well, that's alright I suppose. I can live with it, if I must." She gave Weiss a sidelong glance and the girl smiled supportively, looking at her out of the corner of her eye.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Volume 2 Begin**

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**


	19. Chapter 19

**Mika- Hello Everybody, once again! I have a few things to say. Don't worry, they're all good. Mostly. A few things to explain-**

 **The Previous Chapter- Although it appears confusing (And reading through it again, yeah, It IS confusing.) I think I need to explain something. That was the events during the Break between Volumes 1 & 2\. It is a slideshow of important events taking place over that month-long period. Somehow, the scene breaks were cut out. We apologize for that. **

**The Unplanned Hiatus- To be honest, due to negative reactions, I wasn't exactly feeling the best about Telepathy. I had lost interest in writing it, so I focused on other fics. Twisted wished to have a rewrite, I just wanted to abandon it. To explain- Most of the humor comes from me, not Twisted. If I left, Telepathy would have effectively died. In fact, the most recent update was not a new chapter, it was an AN saying that we had abandoned the story. It was online for two minutes before we chose to delete it because of that review. Remember- Your Reviews saved this story once. It can do so again.**

 **Monochrome Pairing- They're not lesbians, they are bisexual. Both bonded over wanting to be Jaune's girlfriend and Weiss asking Blake how to be a faunus.**

 **Side note- After flipping coins, I have my answers for the faunus question. A few decisions are based on IC decisions, others aren't.**

 **Negativity aside, who wants to read a Fic?!**

 **Twisted~ …..I was gone for two days. I come back to basically a whole chapter. Anyways, yeah, the last chapter was just a snippet thing. I have never in my life done a humor fic, so I don't know how to pass a story unless bitches are bleeding on the ground or something to that effect. I need to learn, I suppose. Also learning to write smut, so that's a thing I need to work on. My first attempt is in Fragments of the Past if anyone is interested.**

 **The Other Guy~ So, yeah… Twisted said I should make a comment here, as I have helped smooth things over in places and write things that aren't the other two author's fortes. Not really sure how much I can take credit for, just a few sappy emotional scenes here and there. I had fun writing Weiss and Stahl's heart-to-heart, so there's that. Oh, and the simulation on the bank roof was kinda cool. But yeah. Here and there, a smidge. Meh. Lemme know how you like Stahl's Address to the people in this chapter? I need feedback. And again, thanks so much to everyone who has kept up with this Fic! You guys do drive us to do great work, after all.**

 **Twisted~ Bloop approves. Hopefuly with the new guy, who shall be hazed thoroughly I assure you, the story will be much better going forward.**

 **The Other "New" Guy ~ Twisty, if ANYONE'S gotten hazed, it's you. That "MEEEEEEP!" you do when you get scared is the most beautiful thing I have ever had the honor of hearing. I didn't know a guy could hit that octave.**

 **Twisted~ I will injure you next time I come over….. And my meeps are perfectly manly, thank you very much. Perfectly, perfectly manly.**

 **Mika~ *glomps Twisted***

 **Twisted~ Nu! *meeps loudly***

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"So, have you guys chosen?" Luna asked kindly, eight filled syringes ready to be used. "Remember, after Mr Schnee makes his announcement, you guys will probably be in the spotlight if you decide to stay a faunus. Beacon's been running as much damage control as we can, but after this it'll all be useless." " **Racists will be all over the place…"**

"Does my father care if I stay a faunus?" Weiss asked hesitantly. " **I want to stay a faunus… But at the same time, I don't want to disappoint Father…"**

"That reminds me…" Luna said, giving Weiss a letter with her name on it. "He gave this to me to give to you." Weiss opened the letter, reading the contents slowly as Jaune watched her. " **A letter… From Father?"**

' _Weiss-_

 _I know I haven't been a good father. You've grown to be such a strong, beautiful woman, and I missed it. For that, I am truly sorry._

 _And now you face a difficult decision. Accept who you are now, or return to the past with new insight. No matter what you choose though, remember this-_

 _You are, and always will be, my daughter. My beautiful baby girl. Ears, tail, or none at all, you are my Weiss. My youngest daughter, one of the three brightest stars I will ever see in my lifetime. If only your mother could see you and Winter today. I could be the poorest man of all, and, if I had you two as I do now, the happiest and wealthiest too._

 _Choose whatever you think is best. Don't have any regrets or feel you need to do anything for the family. Your mother and myself will love you no matter what form you decide you like._

 _With all the love I have to give - Your Father.'_

Weiss felt tears drip onto the page as she smiled, clutching it to her chest. " **Papa… Thank you…"**

"Miss Schnee, I'll give you time, as you look very upset at present and your Aura would fluctuate violently. First up, Jaune." Luna said, offering the tray of syringes instead to the others with a small smile. "Think carefully, as I doubt you can ever return to how you are now." " **Immunities to viruses suck..."**

"I'll pass on the cure. Gotten used to it. Besides… It's a good tie to the family. Who knows, the others might want to try being a faunus too." He said simply, smiling at her.

"I'll take one, I suppose." Ren said, as he lifted a sleeve and Luna set the tray aside, giving him the injection.

"I don't want one! I like being fluffy!" Nora said, wriggling an ear as Ren calmly pet another ear. " **And so does Ren."**

"I'll take one too. I'll do it after Ruby chooses, though..." Yang said, reaching up to take a syringe calmly herself. " **Could really go either way..."**

"...I kinda like it though…" Ruby said gently, looking to Yang, who simply put the needle back on the tray just as calmly as she had taken it. " **Sorry about that Yang…"**

"Don't really want that anymore then, thanks anyway." Yang said apologetically, smiling brightly. "Gonna stick with my sis." " **Dad's going to be PISSED..."**

"That's fine."

"I would also like to stay a faunus…" Pyrrha said gently, glancing over at Jaune, who took her hand comfortingly, and smiling slightly. " **I know how much you like Rabbit faunus..."**

"And now, it's your turn, Weiss." Luna said simply, offering her the small tray calmly and gently, in hopes of not freaking out the hyperventilating younger girl," I know it is a hard choice, but sadly it is one you must make regardless."

" **Here we go… You can do this, Weiss…"** In spite of her brave words and self-encouraging thoughts, Weiss's eyes stayed fixed on the floor, her mouth working soundlessly to try to find the right words.

"Weiss." Jaune gently said, getting her attention. "Make whatever decision _you_ want. Regardless of whatever you decide, we will always, always support you."

"I would like…"

Stahl Schnee moved silently to the podium through the throngs of murmuring citizens and tirelessly inquisitive reporters. He glanced one last brief time at his cue cards, sighing deeply as he climbed the stairs to take his place. _**Yet another press conference…**_ He glanced to the far side of the stage, where the group of virus-afflicted students waited, rather solemnly. … _ **So why does this feel so different?**_ His eyes drifted as he briefly met Jaune's gaze. Jaune smiled, his look of knowing almost off-putting as he moved to the side, revealing the white-haired legacy of the SDC, almost quaking in her boots. Stahl nearly stopped in his path. _**Weiss… Please look at me.**_ He willed, doing his hardest not to redirect himself to her side. Jaune lightly nudged her, stirring her to return her father's stare.

Stahl smiled at her, as warm and accepting as ever before. He didn't even need to form the words in his head to convey the emotions across the distance between their eyes. He caught the briefest of recognition flashing across her face as he turned back to the issue at hand. _**And now, the masses await. Gods above. We have a cure, so there's no threat of a riot with this news, right? Right. The problem, and the solution. all in one. Please, PLEASE don't turn out like the outbreak in Menagerie…**_

Stahl reached his destination with his hands clasped in front of him, the slightest hint of sweat on his face. The sound of clicking shutters soon drowned out any voices as he tapped the microphone lightly, the beat echoing from the speakers throughout the room. He cleared his throat one last time before he began.

"Students of Beacon, Citizens of Vale and Peoples of Remnant." He boomed in the best stage voice he could muster, "I am Stahl Schnee, Corporate Executive of the Schnee Dust Company - a name I'm sure you all know very well." No one spoke as he continued. "As of late, many across our world have fallen on difficult times. There is conflict. There is hunger. I am all too aware of this being the case, as there are many in the SDC that seek to overcome these challenges." Stahl glanced down at his notes, more for dramatic effect than for actual information. His eyes steeled as he returned to the audience. "But as many of us that are trying to help our world, there are equal amounts of individuals that seek to take advantage of our struggles. Most notably, those affiliated with the White Fang. And yes," He raised a hand. "I know their cause began most nobly. But the transgressions have outweighed the contributions. One such example is why I stand here today." Stahl picked up a small remote from the podium, pointing it at the screen behind him. A diagram of a chemical structure shot into view.

"This," Stahl stated, "Is Faunus Retro-Morphous. A rather elaborate attempt of the White Fang to incite panic amongst the populous. It is a virus that recodes the host's DNA to alter their species - In this case, to turn humans into faunus. Now I will be the first to admit this is an incredible medical breakthrough. Some may even find it quite desirable. To some, however, growing extra appendages may prove to be the makings of a rather bad day." He smiled slightly, trying to lighten the mood.

A reporter raised a hand grimly as a small commotion began in the crowd. "But Mr. Schnee, is the effect of this virus irreversible? Surely that can't be impossible?"

 _ **Well, people are predictable, if anything.**_ "An excellent question, and one I have a positive answer to: The virus already has an antidote. We at the Schnee Dust Company have worked tirelessly to produce a cure to Faunus Retro-Morphous, and should you contract the virus, it will be available at no cost to the affected. It will only be effective _after_ the virus has taken effect, so please do not use it beforehand, as you will only infect yourself. Likewise, Faunus should not use it, as it permanently infects them with Rouge's, an incurable genetic disease that adds additional features to their body. One of Beacon's nurses, Luna Arc, the one who began work on the vaccine, is an example of such a faunus." Luna stood up, nodding as her tail flicked into view and her ears twitched.

"Thank you, Miss Arc. To those who wish to become Faunus, however, the virus has also been fitted as an administerable injection, and both the virus and cure will be readily available to the public effective immediately. Thank you."

Jaune jumped as, with a large thud, Ruby slammed a large binder onto the table and coughed. "Sisters... friends... Weiss."

"Hey!" Weiss said, her ears drooping slightly in depression. " **After all this, I'm not her friend? N-nah, it has to be a joke…"**

"Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream." Ruby continued, smiling happily and crossing her arms beneath her small buds. " **A great, great dream."**

"This ought to be good." Yang said as she smiled and leaned back to watch.

"A dream that one day, the four of us will come together, as a _team_ , and have the most fun anyone has ever had... _ever!"_ Ruby finished with a mildly adorable squee, clapping her hands together eagerly. " **This is going to be so FUN!"**

"Did you steal my binder?" " **You could have just asked… Why must you be so childish?"** Weiss sighed, glaring up at her standing partner with an unamused expression.

"I am not a crook." " **Yep."** Ruby enunciated carefully and firmly, making peace signs with both hands and leaning towards the ever-so-slightly smaller girl.

"What are you talking about?" Blake said with a hint of confusion, slowly closing her book and watching the duo curiously.

"I'm talking about kicking off the semester with a bang!" Ruby squealed happily, Jaune smiling at her from the table across from hers and taking a bite of his food coolly.

"I always kick my semesters off with a _Yang!_ Eh? Guys? Am I right?" An apple and a 'boo' was her reply as Yang glared back at Nora. " **Oh. It. Is. On."**

"Look guys, it's been a good two weeks and between more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester is going to be great! But, classes start back up tomorrow! Which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today." " **What first..."** Ruby explained.

"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store." Weiss snipped easily as Blake gently tapped her cheek in thought. " **Though being scared seems the safest option, in all honesty."**

"I think I might sit this one out." Blake muttered, face blank.

"Sit out or not, I think that however we spend this last day, we should do it as a team!"

" _I_ got it!" Nora shouted, and Jaune grimaced when he saw her aiming carefully for Yang's face. Jaune simply sighed, wolfing down his burger quickly and preparing himself for the ensuing battle. " **I'll get her face. Maybe even get some pie into her hair! Then she'll explode and break stuff and it'll be fun~"**

"I for one think that…" Weiss began, as she was interrupted by a pie to the face. " **You… Bitch."** Nora gave a look of shock as she pointed at Ren, who rolled his eyes.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Man, that's harsh." Neptune Versailles said with a sad shake of his head. "Good job stowing away though."

"I know, right? So anyways, they're chasing me, I'm running- And so I drop a banana and the guy slips on it." Sun Wukong explained, laughing loudly and smiling at his partner.

" _Nice!"_ Neptune responded, throwing a fist in the air in celebration and joining in Sun's laughing. "Vale has the _worst_ law enforcement, I swear."

"Yep. Anyways, that knocks over the other guy, so I'm home free and I just run, climb up a building, and I'm gone." Sun laughed and mimed climbing, flicking his tail happily, and Neptune laughed at him again," Anyways, don't tell anyone I got arrested here, okay? Or that I stowed away. And no talking about that one time Scarlet and I fell over, especially not to any ladies!" Sun glared heavily and Neptune, face pinched in his best rendition of a serious glare.

"Got it, got it, no yacking to the ladies about you." Neptune waved dismissively, smiling at the monkey Faunus brightly," My lips are sealed."

"And not a, 'I'm gonna go tell Scarlet the second Sun turns his back secret', I'm talking _secret_ secret." Sun says, leaning in close with the same serious face.

"Whoa, chill out, man, okay? I got it. _I got it._ So, anything else happen here?" Neptune asked quietly, leaning on his hands behind his head comfortably.

"You better. And no, nothing much. Heard that the docks got shot up, but wasn't there to see it." Sun pouted slightly, genuinely upset about missing out," Sounds like it was a fun time, too, sucks I missed out."

"Ouch." Neptune said, opening the door. "Well probably good, cops woulda been all over there, and if they spotted you-"

"Food fight!" A student yelled as the students stampeded outside, many shoving past the two Vacuoean students. The duo managed to stagger past and through the doors, looking up at the scene in front of them.

"Ahahahaha! I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" Nora chanted, hamming it up on top of 'castle' of tables and chairs, owering high towards the ceiling of the cafeteria.

"Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful! It will be... _delicious!_ " Ruby squealed loudly, crushed milk carton held high. The rest of Team RWBY gave a cheer as the 'battle' began.

"Off with their heads!" Nora cried, leaping from the top of the pile towards the the floor, her team following closely behind her, though Jaune was quite unhappy to do so.

"Yang! Turkey!" Especially when Yang grabbed a couple turkeys, of all things, and used them as placebos for Ember Celica.

"Ohhhh, Jauney!"He grunted, ducking and dodging around each attack as she thought of it and backpedaling until he nealy tripped on a baguette, the blonde moving in to capitalize with a wide smile. Nora stopped her, smashing a… watermelon? Really, a watermelon on a pole?

"Foooooooore!" Nora squealed, slamming it into her stomach and tossing her across the room to slam into the farthest wall, just barely missing another blonde dude and a blue haired man beside him. "Jauney! Get up and fight, your Queen commands it!" " **I'm queen of the castle~ I'm queen of the castle~"**

She shoved the baguette at him and spun, chasing after the buxom blonde who was glaring at him brightly with a wide, happy smile. Jaune turned just in time to see a flash of white shooting towards him with her own baguette. blocking the strike almost instinctively and straining against the surprisingly strong girl's force against his own 'weapon'. "You shall fall to me, you perverted fiend!" " **Of course, I don't mind if you're a pervert, as long as it's to me."**

"Really, Weiss? You too?" She only smiled and spun to swing again, the blonde easily ducking under it thanks to his own advantages in this particular fight, Semblance being quite useful," Fine then, you asked for it. Nora! Hammer time."

He saw the girl spin, laughing maniacally, and run at him full force, 'hammer' raised high above her. Jaune smiled, dodging Weiss' attacks for several more seconds before he blocked it, sweeping a leg under her and forcing her to jump to evade, leaping straight into Nora's swinging 'hammer', which threw her through the air and into a column on the far end of the room.

Ruby saw her partner go down, unconscious from the watermelon, and sprinted to catch her," Weiss? Weiss! Don't leave me! NOOOOOOOO!" " **She'll be fine. Just need to ham it up."**

Pyrrha, getting knocked into the air, triggered her semblance, sending a storm of badly-shaken soda into the air towards RWBY. As the rest of the pillar fell, Ruby stood up, prepping her semblance as she ran towards them. Jaune registered her plan in his mind, and then he jumped behind a table, using it as a shield as her soundwave hit.

"I love this place already!" Neptune glared at Sun, drenched with soda from head to toe and looking most unpleased. "Hehe, sorry, dude." He just glared.

"Children, please. Do _not_ play with your food!" Goodwitch said,pushing up her glasses. " **Though I remember when we did this exact thing…"** Nora burped, ruining the team's composure, and then Yang fell through the ceiling and smashed a table beyond even her mending abilities. "Dust…"

"Let it go." Ozpin said, putting his hand on Goodwitch's shoulder and smiling widely. " **Remember, we once did this too."**

"They're supposed to be the defenders of the world." Miss Goodwitch sighed tiredly, reaching up to rub at her forehead tiredly.

"And they will be, but right now they're still children. So why not let them play the part?"At that, Ozpin turned, sipping his coffee as he spoke sadly again."After all, it isn't a role they'll get to have forever."

"We both know that all too well." Goodwitch said softly as she reminisced on a happier time in her own life, sighing sadly. " **The two of us and Ironwood are the only ones left..."**

 **Twisted~ It's a thing, yous guys! We finally made another thing! New thing! XD**

 **Mika~ YAY! New thing!**

 **Twisted~ New thing is good! *wiggles happily***

 **Mika~ *Glomps* New thing is great! So many new things!**

 **Twisted~ *falls over* Staaaaaahp! The shippers, Mika! Think of the shippers!**

 **Mika~ Don't get any ideas, shippers.**

 **Twisted~ I am a plant! Happy, happy plant!**

 **Mika~ Yes. Also… *Bawling* I'm so sorry for the hiatus!**

 **Twisted~ Hey it's fine. There were holidays, we lacked inspiration for a while and were practicing to do better, and I had peeps I needed to go see because other peeps died. Also, look up 'Kirk, Knight of Thorns' on Facebook if you like Dark Souls. They have art, poetry and the occasional meme.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Twisted~ We're starting right away on the next chapter. This means we may not get all input offered in time before posting. Figure it's worth the trade-off of more chapters, quicker.**

 **T.O.G.~ Because we all know Twisted likes to be fast. And finish first in everything.**

 _ **EVERYTHING.**_

 **Twisted~ Mikaaaaa! The mean person is bullying me with jokes I don't understand agaaaaaaain.**

 **Mika~ *Too busy getting the joke and Loling***

 **Twisted~ *hugs Mika and shakes her* Whyyyyyyy!?**

 **T.O.G.~ I regret nothing.**

 **Twisted~ I regret everything**

 **Mika~ *Lol* Anyways, this chapter contains a lot of simplified words for clothing. For the guys, you see.**

 **Ladies (And fashion-aware guys)… You'll just have to deal with the lowest common vocabulary. For example, I could say Bandeau, but how many guys even know what that is? I'll use tube-top as a replacement.**

 **The other reason… I'm not very girly, you see. A bit of a tomboy. Add the fact that I'm "fun-sized". (NOT SHORT DAMMIT!) And I'm not familiar with a lot of girly clothes. (Grammar Nazis just committed suicide trying to read that.)**

 **Twisted~ She's short, but that's okay. If she was tall she wouldn't be Mika, because being short is a prerequisite to being a Mika.**

 **T.O.G.~ Adorbz. Like a micro-pony.**

 **Mika~ NOT SHORT!**

 **XXXXXX-XXXXXX**

Luna blinked at the class, awestruck at the surprising revelation. "Seriously? None of you can swim? I mean, A freaking Cat Faunus can swim!" Blake's ears perked up as she smiled in a self-satisfied way at Weiss. " **Thank you, Mother, for being a Fishing Cat. I could one-up Weiss now."**

"It helped me catch fish whenever I was hungry as a kid." Weiss glared petulantly at the larger girl, turning away after half-a-second with a hearty pout. Blake simply chuckled, smiling at her. "What's wrong, Weiss?" " **Sad you can't swim?"**

"I think the little Weiss Queen is embewassed." Yang teased brightly from her seat, leaning it back on its back legs with her feet up on the desk. Weiss flicked her finger, a small glyph jerking the chair out from under her, and smiled. Yang shot up from the floor a moment later," Hey, that hurt! My head might need some Weiss." " **If Blakey will share, of course."**

"Not a chance, you insufferable oaf." She snapped lightly, turning to look at Luna expectantly," Are you going to continue or not?" " **Is she finding this funny?"** Ruby, who had been quietly snoring next to Blake, chose that moment to wake up with a loud shout of 'make cookies, not baby Grimm', and Jaune couldn't help but sigh amusedly. Meanwhile Weiss continued to fume. "Insufferable, annoying, lazy, distracted…." " **Why is she so childish?"**

"Ruby, if you don't wake up you won't get to go on the field trip with everyone else." Luna said with a smile, arms behind her back," And you'll _definitely_ want to come with us."

 **XXXXXXX-XXXXXXX**

"I see no issue with this, Miss Arc." Ozpin said as he sipped his coffee, enjoying the ever-so-slightly bitter drink as it burned down his throat. "Assuming, of course, proper precaution is taken."

"I intend on it. Fireboats are useful in these situations." Luna explained easily enough. "They'll ensure that no Grimm are in the lake before we arrive. If it is empty already, we'll do a fireboat just in case, just to make sure. Someone is bound to have an old hunk of wood around somewhere."

"Good." Ozpin grunted, picking up his Scroll from the desk and signaling not-so-subtly that the conversation was over. Luna smiled, containing her excitement, and turned to leave before he spoke again, humor in his voice, "I'll have a few teachers and staff to send along as well, some security drones too. See if Kit is available, I know she'd enjoy swimming."

Luna made a face that the headmaster couldn't see, and he gave her a smile _she_ couldn't see, and both pretended they didn't know the other was doing it, "Alright. Anyone else you want to send along?"

"Depends on if you're intending to take pictures." He said simply, and she turned to give him a look of utter confusion, nodding after a second, "Then Glynda. Definitely Glynda. Peach as well, and I want copies of both. Neither finds out about this and I'll pay the bill for the trip." He raised a thin eyebrow, sipping his drink slowly, "Deal?"

She rolled her eyes, smiling slyly. "Deal, you bloody perverted old man." He simply shrugged, letting her leave before slowly pulling a drawer open and picking up a book. Inside were pictures of virtually every woman to ever walk on Beacon's grounds, and he smiled.

"Soon, my collection will be complete." He smiled, stroking the top of the large tome," My precious legacy~" He smiled pervertedly, placing it back beneath the false bottom in the drawer, and took another long, hearty drink of his coffee.

 **XXXXXXX-XXXXXXX**

"I can't believe we have to go swimsuit shopping ourselves!" Weiss whined, looking at the racks in the small store disinterestedly. "And why are they all too big? And two piece? Why aren't there any singlets!" " **It's like underwear..."** She caught Jaune's eye, smiling ever-so-slightly **, "Maybe that's good though…"** "What are you staring for, pervert?"

"Nothing, Weiss. Just staring off into space, not really looking at anything particular." He quickly turned to look off into the store, sighing lightly before thinking of something, "Hey, why am I the one helping with this? I have my own trunks."

Blake and Weiss gave off a faint blush, and Yang instantly covered for them. "We need a male opinion. If it looks good to us but bad to you, probably not going to be chosen, and you can make sure it fits properly." Blake raised a thin eyebrow, smiling almost coyly," We'd definitely want to avoid any _mishaps_ , now wouldn't we?" " **Though neither of us would mind if only Jaune saw, I'm sure. And he'd hopefully like it."**

"Blake is the one who insisted we bring you because she said Ren would be busy." Weiss paused and looked around as if in realization, clearly confused," Speaking of which, where are they?" " **They had best not be in some closet or something, the insufferable rabbits…"**

"Oh they're probably in a changing room or something," Jaune said with a smile, looking at the girl," You know how rabbits can get." The small girl blushed brightly, glaring at him, and he chuckled. "In all seriousness, they may have just gotten what they wanted and left." Weiss' blush and glare both subsided and she seemed satisfied enough, turning to look through the swimsuits once again. "And the singlets are down three aisles towards the back and to the left, Weiss."

"I… Thank you, Jaune." She smiled politely and turned, walking briskly the way he'd directed after he grunted in polite acknowledgement. Blake smiled, watching her go quietly for several long seconds before plucking her choice - a black-with-purple-lace bikini top tied off in a central bow, with a matching lowleg bottom - off the rack. Satisfied, she sauntered over to sit alongside Jaune.

"You already have your choice made?" Jaune asked curiously, looking at the girl sitting next to him," Why didn't you come sit down already? It's been at least an hour of you two looking."

"I didn't want Weiss to feel rushed or like she wasn't doing what she should be." Blake explained quietly, reaching into a small pack she'd brought and pulling out a book," She can be… sensitive about that sort of thing, so I usually wait on her." " **Small breasts, you know?"**

"That's… sweet of you." Jaune said in mild surprise, smiling lightly in spite of himself, "It's very _cool_ of you to take care of her like that, Blake." He smiled and was met with a very unamused expression," No to the puns then?"

"Definitely no to the puns, and no hanging out with Yang and her Dust-damned pun book. Ever." He balked at her glare for several seconds before she turned away, flipping open her book and skimming through the page. "She should be done soon enough, assuming there's something there to accommodate her… developing stature." " **Late bloomer, probably. Well, hopefully is more apt, I suppose."**

"Great, I'm exhausted." Jaune said with an exaggerated stretch, looking around the store boredly at the customers," You two walk too fast, wore me out in no time. And I live with Nora, so that's a feat not all too easily accomplished."

Weiss exited the dressing room, wearing the swimsuit she had picked out and walking towards the duo carefully in the simple light blue swimsuit, a single white frill on her chest and a tied skirt covering the frilled bottoms." Uh, how does this look? All of the Singlets I could find were too childish, didn't fit me, or were not to my taste."

"You look good. Spectacular, honestly." Jaune complemented, looking at her as she looked down to blush adorably, wringing her hands together and squirming slightly. The top, tied for what Weiss considered her bust size - which was not her true size - came undone thanks to the wiggling, the bikini top flipping down and giving Jaune an unobstructed view of perky A cup breasts which bounced slightly.

" **Oh god, it happened again…"** "Oh!" Weiss gave a panicked noise as she pulled the top up, getting eye contact with Jaune's matching blushing face, before she scurried back into the changing room in a flash, a glyph fading in her wake. Jaune simply sighed, glad to have at least not been slapped, and turned to look at Blake.

Who smiled and immediately slapped him,"Pervert!" He glared at her and she chuckled, smiling brightly," Always wanted to do that." " **Just like Hisao, from my favorite book..."**

 **XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXXXX**

"Dad!" Ruby said loudly, glomping Taiyang as he waited on the helipad for them to arrive with a loud, happy squeal. "I missed you so much! It's been, like, forever since I saw you! You're getting grey hairs and everything!"

"Ruby! Didn't expect to see you when Luna said she'd be bringing her class here." Taiyang said with a smile as he ruffled her hair, focusing on her new ears, and using the same motion to shove her off his chest gently. "And it's not even been a year, I look exactly the same as I used to, my little Rose Bud. You've added something though… Did you cut your hair?"

"Tai, good to see you again." Luna greeted, giving him a quick hug as soon as the ship touched down. "It's been a long time hasn't it?"

"Five years isn't that long, all things considered. Not really, at least. Just feels that way sometimes." Taiyang said easily, popping his shoulder and rolling it to stretch it out in preparation for the likely probability of his daughters glomping him again. "So what do you need me to do?"

"Just watch the boys, make sure they don't do anything stupid." She answered easily, smiling thinly at him and watching the smallest Rose run around him excitedly. "Shouldn't be too difficult for you, unless your age _is_ starting to show after all."

"Got it, make sure they don't do anything that would make Qrow or Yang proud. Please take care of my girls." He said with a laugh, watching the students behind her unloading from the Bullhead," Is that boy… okay? He looks ill."

"DAAADDD..." Ruby whined, as Taiyang smiled brightly at her. "Don't make fun."

"He'll be fine. He's always been like that around airships, weak stomach perhaps." Luna smiled slightly, watching the boy sympathetically," He'll be okay in a few minutes."

"You know him well?" Tai asked quietly, watching the poor boy.

"He's my little brother, so yes, I'd say I know him pretty well." She smiled, turning to give him a look, and the older man shrugged, accepting the answer without comment," They should be done soon, by the way. "

Goodwitch and Kit exited, a few students holding a few crates, And Gynda holding a few herself with her telekinesis abilities. The rest of Team RWBY were out next, Yang with a shit-eating grin as she gave him a hug. "Team, this is our dad. Dad, team."

"Nice to meet you, Team. Gotta say, you two had some very unoriginal parents. " Taiyang instantly said, giving them an idea of where Yang got her sense of humor, smiling when everyone groaned. "More seriously- Taiyang Xiao Long."

"..Blake. Blake Belladonna." The cat muttered nervously, watching the man suspiciously more out of habit than anything else and stepping closer to the other half of the monochrome duo.

"Weiss Schnee. A pleasure to meet you, sir." The two girls introduced themselves, getting a simple nod in return. "And thank you, sir, for coming to get us and helping with our-"

"Oh shush, Weiss-cream, quit hogging my dad." Yang said, playfully punching the diminutive Schnee, shoving her into Blake and forcing her to grab at the girl to avoid falling. "Hey now, makin' a move, little snow pea? Get it!"

"Yang," Taiyang scolded. "That's a bit much, isn't it?" He glanced at the two girls apologetically, who in turn blushed and walked away. Out of the corner of his mouth, to Yang, he whispered. "Gotta look the part of the adult, anyway. How long have they…?"

"Oh, long enough. But I'm not sure if anything's come of it. Still, they've got…" Yang subtly pointed at Jaune. "Common interests."

"Lucky bastard…" Taiyang sighed. "Well, give it time. Are we getting going?"

"Almost. I think the only thing left is getting everyone on the same page." Yang turned to the rest of the crowd. "Alright guys! Bags packed, junk stowed? Good! Leggo!"

"Kaaay~" Ruby skipped down the path leading to the lake at the bottom of the hill, smiling brightly with the others in tow. Some more distantly in the case of CRDL, who had been pressed into service by Luna and Kit.

"There you are, Peach." Luna smiled to the smaller woman. "Was wondering when I'd see you, though I'm guessing all the normal height people gave you some problems on that particular front."

"I will cut the strap to your top when you aren't paying attention." The diminutive teacher threatened, pulling a pocket knife from somewhere on her person, a volleyball underneath her arm, and spinning it idly while Luna smiled nervously. "Now would you kindly take the young ladies to get changed?."

"And if you cut my strap, I'll shatter your suit. Not just the top, either. Anyways, What about you?" She asked simply, raising a thin eyebrow at the smaller woman," Aren't you going swimming?"

"Mine is already on, under my dress," she said with a smile, flicking a hand at her pale pink sundress indicatively," Some of us can plan ahead, you know. Or did you forget? Like usual."

"I'd tell you to bite my ass, but I don't know that you'd reach. And assuming you have some heels to wear so you can, you'd probably do it." Luna smiled at her, poking her forehead," Little nipper, like a puppy."

"Is that a bald spot on your tail I see?" Peach chuckled as she walked next to Luna.

"Fuck you, Pinks." Luna said with a quiet chuckle, smiling slightly," And no, that was most definitely not an offer."

"Never again, Foxie, you have a girlfriend now." Peach shot back instantly, rolling her eyes," I do not want to tangle with any of that noise. She scares me."

"I missed our talks." Luna admitted, smiling. "It's been a long time since Beacon. Since Team PLOW... Disbanded."

"Don't dwell on the past dear. Live for the future." Peach sighed. "Yes, I can't say I don't enjoy your company. But really," she motioned down as she moved ahead. "Our name sucked. Aside from Gray, none of us had anything related to that. Other than we all turned out to be good in bed."

Luna chuckled nonchalantly, waiting until Peach was multiple people ahead before furtively brushing her tail."Magnificent asshole," she muttered amusedly.

 **XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXXXX**

The girls entered the changing shack at the beach in a steady stream, Yang among the first to step inside. She grinned. "Awright, then. Last one dressed carries the luggage back to the Bullhead!"

"As if we'd fall for that rubbish," Weiss sighed, though she glanced around at the others for confirmation.

"Don't listen to her, Weiss. Just get dressed out and let's go. I'm hoping to get a tan by the end of today." Blake patted the smaller girl on the back and began to strip in preparation to change. Tossing her clothes to the side, Blake looked at Weiss, smiling. "Nice swimsuit, by the way. Cute, yet elegant all at once. It's very... you."

"O-of course!" Weiss said with a blush as she pulled on her swimsuit bottoms. "I am a Schnee, after all, so it's only to be expected." She put her hands on her hips, smiling proudly. "Yours is pleasant too." Blake's swimsuit, just as new as Weiss' and purchased at the Schnee's insistence, was black with light purple highlighting her curves, a small purple bow on the front perched beneath her breasts.

"You're still topless, though, Weissicle." Yang pointed out, pulling her own tiger-printed tube-top over her bust and pulling her matching bottoms on. Weiss' only response was a blushing glare. "Or are you showing off for Blakey? She's seen a lot of those teeny bites last couple days."

"Fiend!" She shrieked, hurling an empty bag at the laughing blonde and grabbing her abandoned top forlornly, slipping the top of the pale blue, frilled suit on and adjusting the sarong until it was comfortable and not tickling her legs. "I should hide your hair care products, let everyone else see your precious mane get frazzled and frizzy."

"Weiss, don't be mean…" Ruby pouted slightly from her other side, giving Weiss her best pout to guilt her into stopping, smiling when she sighed and turned around in frustration. Ruby, still rather shy - especially around Jaune and other guys - had kept to some of her preferred conventions of dress in her choice of suit. Both top and bottom were black, highlighted in red, much like her normal daily attire and the bottom was hidden beneath a thin, skirt like frill that surrounded her legs. She smiled brightly when the two dropped the argument, clapping happily, "Thanksalot!"

"Come on, come on, come oooooon guys! I don't wanna miss the big boom!" Nora squealed, running past them towards the door with her sloth sound echoing behind her. She was wearing a rather normal pink bikini with light grey highlights, her usual heart emblem on her behind.

Pyrrha looked at them from her own spot on the soft grass, smiling slightly at their banter and Nora's excited behavior and adjusting her own suit so it, hopefully, shouldn't fall off. Her suit was a red one, attached along the back into one piece, but leaving her stomach bare from below her breasts down to her hips with bronze highlights surrounding it and running along the edges as well as her spine to accentuate her curves, laces running up each side as much for decoration as to keep the damned thing attached to her body. She wanted to show off to Jaune, not kill him…

She was, of course, ignorant of the event with Weiss and thought full-on seeing breasts would be… problematic.

 **XXXXX-XXXXX**

Luna hummed a song happily and excitedly to herself as she wired the last of her explosives, setting the live plastic into the boat gently, satisfied that a hundred or so pounds of it would go off with a nice show and standing back up, dusting herself off. Luna was wearing a swimsuit she'd worn for quite a while, at least in style, a pale yellow set, the top half tied around her neck comfortably, with the white Arc emblem on her breast over her heart.

With a bare foot, she kicked it into the water, letting Glynda pull it into the middle of the lake with her Telekinetic abilities. Luna could see small fish-like grimm, about the size of salmon, biting at the boat angrily, the boat slowly settling deeper and deeper.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" She pressed the clacker, letting it explode and sending a pillar of water into the air, laughing happily all the while. Glynda simply stared, flabbergasted as always at the insanity of the staff surrounding her, and adjusted her swimsuit.

"Honestly, you didn't need to use that many explosives, Miss Arc…" she muttered, glaring balefully at her and using her abilities to keep the Grim bits from hitting anyone as they rained down from the sky. The cold water, however, she only blocked from herself, continuing to adjust the top half of her blue Beacon issued one-piece suit, the laurels and axes on her breast over her heart.

She did appreciate Ozpin helping her pack, as she had been rather busy that day, but honestly, they needed to have a talk about her outfits. This suit was at least a whole size too small, straining to… contain her in a way she knew Luna and Peach both enjoyed, even if Luna did so quietly.

"Wow, Glynda. You're popping right out, aren't you?" Peach was… not so quiet, and frustrated the taller woman greatly for it. "Why are you wearing such a small suit?"

"I do not know, perhaps I grabbed one of yours. Oh wait…" Glynda smiled, turning to look at her condescendingly," I didn't get mine from the kid's section." Luna couldn't help the bubbling laughter that surged in her chest while Peach practically vibrated in anger.

"I am not a child!" She shrieked, leaping at the more developed woman and tackling her to the ground while Luna chanted 'Fight, fight, fight!' in the background, laughing and reaching for her Scroll to take pictures while the duo was distracted. Of course, snapping pictures subtly of the two wrestling women, Luna was unable to notice the falling fish, still alive, until it smacked into her chest and squirmed in between her breasts. She squealed, tossing the Scroll away and running in a circle while she tried to get the wriggling creature off of her top without tearing it.

 **XXX-XXX**

"Is your sister okay?" " **That looks very… uncomfortable."** Ren asked, watching as Luna flailed around desperately several yards away. He and Jaune were simply dressed, Jaune in white shorts with the Arc emblem on the sides and Ren in green ones with pink highlights.

"Yeah she's fine." Jaune dismissed, boredly watching the trio," Surprised Miss Goodwitch would act like this though. Kind of different from how she always acts at school, you know?"

"She's usually stricter, yes. I believe this is a vacation for her, however, so perhaps this is just her relaxing." Ren argued simply, crossing his arms almost anxiously and looking the way the girls had gone. " **Kinda making it hard to relax with all the racket, though."**

"Damn, Arc… Your sister's hot." Cardin grunted, walking up behind him and bumping elbows with him, wearing dark red trunks he'd likely bought recently, judging by the tag dangling off the back that he'd obviously forgotten to remove." And look at Goodwitch too! Damn, glad we came now." " **Both of them look great. Damn, never thought I'd see a hot faunus."** Sky and Dove were both wearing light blue shorts, and Russel was wearing dark green ones and a matching shirt, all three laughing as quietly as possible at their leader.

"Try it and I'll tell Nora that you punched Ren," Jaune warned threateningly, glaring at the larger man who grew somewhat nervous at the implication," Besides, she doesn't like people like you. For obvious reasons that a smart man would see. But your tag's still on your trunks, so if you need it explained I'll understand."

His own team finally cracked up audibly, and he glared at the smiling blonde angrily when Ren interjected," And before you forget, Nora is friends with Jaune as well." " **And she's not afraid of breaking a few bones."**

"Jaune." Kit said in greeting as she walked by, her suit almost exactly like Luna's save for it being red instead of Luna's colors - something Kit had done purposefully - moving towards Luna. " **Hot, huh? Wonder if he'll find this hot…"** "Hey, Luna?" Luna finally managed to toss the fish away and turned towards Kit with an amused smile, opening her mouth to say hello back. Only for Kit to quickly lock lips with her, preventing her speech for blatant reasons, and pulled her flush against her with a yank. Luna's eyes opened in surprise, before she leaned into the kiss, kissing her back with a noise. When Kit broke it a full five seconds later, a trail of saliva connected the two, Luna had a pleasantly suprised look on her face, smiling almost drunkenly. "Thanks, hon, just proving a point real quick."

"That's the other reason you don't want to play this game." Jaune said with an embarrassed sigh, rubbing his forehead in annoyance. "Honestly, why they can't just keep it in the bedroom I'll never, ever understand."

"I see."Cardin blinked, staring at Luna in stunned silence. " **That was hot. Woah…"** "I'm, uh, gonna go for a walk. C'mon, you assholes." The trio whined, complaining loudly, and he glared at them until they stopped.

"RENNNY~!" Nora shouted, glomping him from behind surprising everyone, even attracting Peach and Glynda's attention and distracting them from their tangle of limbs at the water's edge, wiggling against his back happily. "I missed the big boom!" " **I hope you can feel these against your back..."**

"Sorry, Ren, she ran off before we could stop her." Pyrrha muttered, walking with the rest of the girls towards them and rubbing the back of her neck before she notice Glynda and Peach, who had resumed their fighting," What are they…" " **Are they fighting? Screwing? They're teachers, they should show more decorum..."**

"Are they booping, Ren?" " **Why can they do it in public?!"** Nora asked loudly, hanging onto the boy's back when he stood up, much like the sloths she loved so much. "Why do they get to do it in public when we-" He reached up, covering her mouth with a flat expression.

"Nora, stop talking." " **Somebody's sensitive?"** She giggled against his hand and nodded, so he turned to look at Jaune who was smiling in an amused way," And you, stop laughing."

"Sorry, Ren." Jaune said quietly, turning to say something to the girls when he spotted Blake walking towards him, smiling ever-so-slightly and chatting with Yang, and his jaw dropped just before he repeated something Cardin had said earlier." Damn…"

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Mika~The next chapter after this is our real beach episode, as an apology for the haitus.**

 **Twisted~ ….. It's a lake.**

 **Mika~ Close enough.**

 **Twisted~ But… No… Is lake… Is different…**

 **Mika~ CLOSE ENOUGH! *Angry Flailing***

 **Twisted~ Nu. Is wrong. *ANGRIER FLAILING***

 **Mika~ IS RIGHT *ANGRIEST FLAILING***

 **Twisted~ Nunununu! *ANGRIEST FLAILING POSSIBLE, FALLS OVER* Damnit…. Mika, I fall down and go boom!**

 **Mika~ *LAWL***

 **Twisted~ Is not funny…**

 **Mika~ Is pretty funny.**

 **Twisted~ So mean…..**

 **T.O.G.~ I feel left out…**

 **Twisted~ You was the sleeping.**


	21. Chapter 21

**T.O.G.~ WEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOWEEEEEEEEOOOOOOO!**

 **MATURE CONTENT ALERT! PLEASE MAKE ALL SMALL CHILDREN LEAVE THE ROOM IMMEDIATELY!**

 **Twisted~ You guys wanted lemons… So we got a guy…. Guess what that means?**

 **T.O.G.~ Yes, yes… I know. You're welcome. God.**

 **Mika~ Tog, Be nice. Baka.**

 **Twisted~ Perverts everywhere… And Mika, be nice.**

 **T.O.G.~ You know what? just… everyone. Simmer down, enjoy the lemonade, pay no attention to the aphrodisiacs in it. Recipe for peace. Perfect.**

 **Mika~ You put de Lime in de coconut~**

 **Twisted~ I will burn this bitch to the ground.**

 **Mikuru (Mika)~** _ **eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee**_ **-**

 **T.O.G~ Twisted!**

 **Twisted~ *le sigh* Yes?**

 **T.O.G.~ *Holds up pitcher* Lemon. Ade. Drink. Peace. Now.**

 **Twisted~ Fucking puns, god damned perverts, lemons, limes, damned- *breaks down***

 **T.O.G.~ Shhhhh… No tears. Just spiked lemonade.**

 **Twisted~ The fuck drugs are you idiots on?**

 **T.O.G.~ The FUN kind.**

 **Mikuru~-** _ **eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-**_

 **Twisted~ ...I hate you all so much right now it actually is causing physical pain.**

XXXXXXX-XXXXXXX

"Okay, keep your legs moving, Weiss. I've got your arms. Pyrrha, You're doing good so far! Just don't forget to breathe!" Luna called out to the two novice swimmers, standing waist deep in the shallow portion of the inlet. Weiss kicked frantically, causing small blasts of water to rain down on her teacher, her hands practically digging into Luna's arms. " **I'm not going to drown… I'm not going to drown… I'm not… Oh, god, he's looking at me, isn't he? I know he is. I look absolutely stupid right now, don't I-"**

"Weiss, don't slow down, you've almost got it!" Luna shouted encouragingly. " **Something's got you worked up… and it's not the water. What is…?"** She glanced up at where her white-haired charge had been looking, making eye contact with her brother. " **Oh. Well that explains it. God, Jaune. I hope you're taking good care of all these girls that keep falling for you."**

Pyrrha paddled in small circles to one side, having graduated already from the 'holding hands' stage. She stood up every once in a while to glance at Jaune and smile. " **I think I'm starting to get the hang of this, Jaune! I wish you were here to teach instead, though… It might be more fun.** " Jaune rolled his eyes at her thoughts, waving back when she did.

 **XXXXXX-XXXXXX**

"Waaah~! Yang! Get it! _GET IT!_ " Ruby screamed at her sister as the nylon ball shot over her head. Yang leapt, missing the ball by inches as it shot to their makeshift goal.

"Wow, what was that, Yang?" Nora antagonized. "Too top-heavy for your own good?"

" _What was that you jumping rat?!"_ Yang yelled, tackling her opponent with a splash. " **I'll have you know I've only grown three sizes since I was 15!"**

"Ack! Ren~!" Nora laughed, but was interrupted by another face full of lake water. " **OH SHI-!"**

Just as Jaune was about to look away, he caught Ren attempting to pull Yang away from Nora. Unfortunately, with all the water kicked up, no one could properly see what was happening until -

"OY! Watch where you're-!" " **That's my top you're grabbing!"**

"Whoa!" Ren cried, thrown backwards with a long section of fabric in hand. Even from the distance he was at, Jaune saw clearly for the first time the true form of Yang's assets, bouncing spectacularly amidst the action. Everything fell silent for a moment in that stretch of lake as Yang stood, stock-still, face covered by her dripping wet hair.

"You…" Yang turned to Ren, who floated frozen in terror, still clutching the remains of Yang's swimwear. "You… _FIEEEEENND!_ " A decently-sized explosion of water swept up all involved, showering the immediate vicinity with lake water and drowning out the cries of protest of all involved. Jaune sat on his small deck chair, viewing the action with amusement and sipping his drink. The day was still far from over, and he wanted to make the most of the 'rest and relaxation' part of it while he had the chance, knowing that it was likely not to last all that long in any event. He shut the noise of the commotion out and closed his eyes.

 **XXXXXX-XXXXXX**

"That's great, Weiss, Pyrrha. Good job!" Luna congratulated, giving them a smile. "You can both officially swim! You're still just starting, admittedly, but it's better than nothing. That being said, practice will help you get better at it. So, I'm fairly confident in your abilities; Why not go join that water polo match? Or just swim around. Make sure you stay in an area close to other people, though, just in case."

"Thank you, Miss Arc." Weiss nodded respectfully before the two of them left, as Luna waded up to the shore, reaching out to take a towel Kit offered her.

"Good work out there. It only took them two hours to go from floundering to decent swimmers." The woman said simply, following Luna towards the edge of the water when she started walking.

"They pay attention to what I'm saying." Luna explained easily, toweling off and plopping onto the sandy ground next to the water, watching the youths play and further practice their - still floundery - swimming. "It's not a major talent or anything."

"You're a good teacher though. Working with them, figuring out the issues they're having, those are the talents," she plopped down next to the Arc woman, leaning back on her palms comfortably and drawing the Arc's eye to her chest.

"That reminds me, I need to take your picture." Luna mumbled, turning around and crawling a few inches to reach her bag so she could get her scroll. "Makin' an album."

"How about we do a trade, hmmm? I know you're snooping for Ozpin-"

"H-how did you know?" Luna stammered out, shocked, spinning around on the ground to look at the other woman in surprise. "T-That's supposed to be a secret!"

"That just told me. Anyways, I'll let you take a picture of me, if you don't mind a more… Private picture being taken of both of us as well. That one doesn't go to Ozpin, mind you." She smiled lewdly, turning to gesture at the forest behind them," We can sneak off, there's plenty of woods around to keep everyone from seeing us."

Luna's shoulders slumped, defeated. "I could never say 'no' to you, anyway…" She rolled her eyes with a smile, taking Kit's hand as the two of them meandered off into the dense woods.

 **XXXXXX-XXXXXX**

Jaune yawned, blinking himself awake as he looked around. The sun was setting in the distance, and the Water Polo game continued on, though Blake was mysteriously absent. He looked about himself for the others, but most of them had migrated to the opposite end of the shore.

On the other side of the small inlet, he spotted Blake steal a glance at him. " **Come on, Blake… Remember the plan. The cave…"** She stepped into the forest, soon disappearing from sight entirely.

Jaune stood up from his chair, looking around the lake for her to come back out of the woods and turning around…. Nearly smacking into Peach blinked, who blinked in surprise and took a step away. "Have you seen Team CDRL today, Jaune?" " **I'm sure those lousy good-for-nothings are doing something stupid…"**

"Er, no…" Jaune shook his head, sight still trained on the treeline. "But should we - any of us, I mean - be going off into the forest right now?"

Peach's eyes lit up in recognition. "If those rascals are hatching some plan in the forest right now…" " **Oh, I'll get them good… They've managed to avoid my divine wrath for this long… But oh, no… no more. My fury shall be divine and intense like a wrathful goddess!"**

Jaune sighed. She wasn't going to listen, anyhow, he decided. It wasn't that out of line to think that CRDL was being childish, anyway. "Well, anyway, I can't find Blake, so there's that too, I guess…" He attempted one more time. Peach nodded absentmindedly, waving him off slightly.

"Oh, miss Belladonna can take care of herself, I'm sure. I wouldn't worry." " **...Maybe Goodwitch has seen them. I'll bust those pipsqueaks for sure…"** "I need to get back to the other staff, mister Arc. A matter of utmost urgency. Please help keep an eye out for team CRDL, dear?" And with that, Peach made an angry beeline to Glynda on the far side of the shore, leaving a disgruntled Jaune in her wake.

Jaune stretched the kinks out of his muscles, groaning slightly at his sore neck. He looked back at the chair, amazed he managed to fall asleep in that rickety thing. He continued to rub his shoulders as he made his way down to the main group.

"Hey, Weiss! Where are you going?" Ruby called as the small Schnee exited the water. " **We're gonna be down a teammate! I don't want to lose to them!"**

"I've got to check on something on my scroll," Weiss called back. "I'll be returning in a minute, don't worry." " **I did promise father I'd keep in better contact with him from now on…"**

Ren took advantage of the moment to break away from the water as well, reclining back on the sand exhaustedly. "I'll take a breather, too…" " **Nora's been running me ragged today… And I thought sparring practice with her was terrifying…"**

Jaune smiled knowingly at Ren's thoughts as he passed, to which Ren acknowledged with a weak nod before plopping back down on the soft earth. As Jaune continued down the waterline, a shrill shriek raised the hairs on his neck. It was undeniably Weiss. Turning back to where she just was, he caught her bright red face peeking out of the changing shack door. "Our… Our clothes! All of them are-!" " **There will be HEADS rolling! Of all the childish, inappropriate…!"**

"Look! Yang pointed further up the shore, where a spectacularly adorned tree sat, shrouded with undergarments of all shapes and colors that swayed in the late-afternoon breeze. "Who the hell?!"

"Did _NO ONE_ see this happen?!" Glynda shouted, balking as she, too, saw her heavily laced underwear hanging with the rest of them. " **And we call ourselves Huntsmen and Huntresses?!"**

Off at the side, team CRDL had reappeared, doing their best - which was rather poor, quite frankly - to look innocent. It became apparent very quickly that Peach wasn't having even a base modicum of it. " _YOU INSOLENT, INADEQUATE EXCUSES FOR MEN!"_ She roared like a battle cry; the shortest, angriest, and by far most terrifying thing Jaune had ever seen. Nearby, Jaune saw Ruby had exited the water to watch the spectacle in horror, mixed with the barest hint of amusement.

"Uh, Ruby? Blake isn't around and-"

" **I'll bet those bastards ate the cookies I had stored in there, too! QUADRUPLE CHOCOLATE CHIP! There… Will be…. BLOOD!"** The look in Ruby's eyes said her thoughts weren't lying. Jaune shrank away terrified.

"I'm going to stay back here, then…" He offered meekly to no one in particular, taking a few steps away. "You guys, uh, have your fun. I'm alright." No one in particular responded, and only Ruby gave him the barest acknowledgement. As the scene began to look more and more like the start of a battle, Jaune decided it would be best to cut himself out of the picture. Turning to the forest, he resigned himself to going alone.

With only three paces in, the world had turned a different kind of wild. And within three minutes, the sounds of conflict behind him died away, paving the way for the soothing sounds of nature. "Blake?" He called out to the foliage. "Where are you?! It might be dangerous out here alone." His calls were only answered by the chirps of songbirds and insects.

 **XXXXXX-XXXXXX**

"Blake?" Jaune trudged through the forest, head on a swivel. "Are you around here?"

"Jaune!" He heard his name called from nearby. Turning, he saw Blake leaning against a tall gnarled willow. " **Good. you're already over here. That makes it a heck of alot easier."**

"Blake?" He blinked. "We've been wondering where you were. Let me go tell the others-"

"No," Blake caught his arm as he began to wander back to the crowd. "Actually…" She hesitated. "I've got something to show you out here. I took a walk on the shoreline just now. And there's a cave." " **-"**

Jaune tensed up at the thought. "A cave? Grimm?"

She smiled slightly, shaking her head. " **It's just like you to think like that. Over-protective and conscientious. Just like Hisao."** "No, I checked. There aren't any grimm on that part of the island. But still… You can hear the waves perfectly in there. Want to see? " **Take the bait, Jaune."**

"I…" Jaune hesitated, trying to further find out what 'bait' he was taking. Still… the smile on Blake's face wasn't that of a prankster, and he did genuinely trust her and his other friends. And besides, he was curious, and a cave would be a nice hiding spot. "...Fine." He relented. "Should I say where we're going?"

"N-no," She replied. "We'll be right back, anyway." " **And I REALLY don't want anyone walking up on us unannounced…"** "Come on, this way." Blake turned and started off into the thicket with Jaune close behind. The woods were alive and pulsing with all manner of animals, from the birds in the trees to the croaking frogs in the standing puddles inland from the lake. Paired with the nearby surf and wind through the branches, it was incredibly atmospheric… Very peaceful. "Over here," Blake called out as Jaune ducked under a thick fallen branch. "There's a trail down to the entrance. " **Hurry up, Jaune."**

"Okay…" Jaune picked his way down the steep slope, avoiding loose pebbles and lake algae. "So… What were you doing that made you come down this way?"

"Just exploring a bit. I enjoy nature, especially forests and caves." " **Which is true, I suppose. The map of the area I looked at in the library earlier was helpful in finding this place, too."** Jaune stumbled when he heard that, and found his footing on a thin slab of moss-covered limestone. He heard an audible _CRACK_ as the surface gave way, sending him tumbling into Blake just as she turned in surprise.

"Look out!" He cried as the two of them made contact. His momentum carried her off of her feet, and the two of them hit the ground a few feet below. "Ugh… Well, that could have been worse…" Jaune looked up to realize he had pinned Blake to the ground, straddling her as she looked up at him, blushing slightly. "I-I'm sorry," He mumbled sheepishly, pushing off the ground in an effort to rise.

"Wait." Blake grabbed him by the shoulder, holding him in place. " **Well… not really what I had in mind… But this might work just fine."**

Jaune began to realize with shock what was happening, still processing what an idiot he had been for not seeing the signs, even as Blake drew his face to hers. Her eyes stayed locked with his in such an intense stare, Jaune had trouble looking anywhere else.

"Kiss me." Jaune blinked as she said it, eyes instinctively wandering to her lips. " **Just do it. I'm not going to forgive him if he stops here."** He swallowed, feeling a warmth rise inside him, knowing his face had become flushed. He wasn't sure if this was how it was supposed to work, if this sort of thing was considered "normal" circumstances.

But the longer he looked at Blake, the less he began to care. He drew himself closer, feeling her warm breath on his lips, then the contact against hers. His mind blanked, not knowing how to process anything other than the raw emotions of the moment. Her lips parted slightly, inviting him to slide his tongue to meet hers, and he felt a wave of chills as her hand reached around behind his head, locking them together as their kiss grew more passionate.

"Jaune..." Blake muttered amidst their lips' embrace, "I love you…" " **Please… Make love to me..."**

Jaune stopped for a moment to brush Blake's hair from her face, smiling. "I love you too, Blake. You know how much I care about you." He leaned in again with renewed vigor, kissing her more and more deeply.

"Jaune," Blake broke away, breathing heavily from the heat of the moment. "My top… can you…?" " **Take the lead, Jaune. I want you to take the lead."**

Hearing her words, said and unsaid, Jaune re-positioned himself lower, reaching around her back to the straps of her bikini top as she raised herself to allow passage. His hands brushed the small of her back, and Jaune felt her shiver against it, goosebumps forming as his hands fumbled with the knot. After a moment or two, the two halves of string separated, and the top grew slack on Blake's chest.

"There," Jaune said, barely over a whisper. He peeled the still-damp fabric away, sticking slightly to her skin from the moisture. Underneath, her breasts glistened slightly, nipples already hard from both the cold water and the situation at hand.

"Ah-" Jaune jumped a little as Blake's hand found its way to his swim trunks. She deftly yanked down on the leg, bringing the whole article away from his member.

"Oh?" Blake smiled slyly. "Is that all it takes to get you hard?" " **How many times have I been around Jaune when he had a boner, I wonder? I'll bet that incident with Weiss in the shop the other day was one."** As Jaune sat in shock, Blake reached for his hand, bringing it to her chest. "You're welcome to touch, you know. I'm fine." Jaune nodded, obediently wrapping his hands around her breasts, kneading and distorting them gently. Each time he brushed over her areolas, she bucked slightly, stifling a slight moan. "G-good…"

As he worked, Blake fumbled for his dick, clenching her slender hands around the shaft. It was slightly awkward, as her focus was elsewhere, and Jaune finally had to speak.

"Um… Blake, could you… not?" He finished quietly.

"S-sorry… I just…" " **It's not like I could concentrate with all that… Wait."** Blake looked up at Jaune with a smirk. "Maybe I could… Try that?"

"That…?" Jaune raised an eyebrow as Blake pulled herself out from under him, pushing him over in the process.

"Just relax." Blake got down to his waist-level, eyeing the throbbing head nervously. Delicately she stroked it with one hand, licking the top as she did so. "Yeah…" She muttered to herself. " **Salty, after all…"** Her attacks grew more bold, wrapping more and more of it with her mouth and tongue, and pumping faster with her fist.

Jaune was completely at her mercy. Although this was his first time, and he was positive Blake had no experience beforehand, He imagined that her skill was better than most starters. He could feel her tongue writhe around his shaft, hitting all the right spots, sending wave after wave of stimulation. As the feelings got more intense, he put a hand to her head to signal. "Blake, you need to... "

"Mmph-hmm!" She replied incomprehensibly. " **Almost there. Almost…"** Jaune tensed; he couldn't hold it anymore. His lower body thrust forward, sending a shot of his seed into Blake's mouth. She sat up after a moment, and he could tell she still had it. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't look at me!" He laughed. "I didn't tell you to stay there." She shrugged and spat on the stone floor, coughing slightly. "Yeah… False advertising." " **Damned Ninjas of Love…"** "Anyway, we should…?" Blake blushed deeply, sliding her hand down between her thighs. A thick, wet sound emanated from her shifting fingers. "I think I'm ready…" " **As ready as I'll ever be."**

"Are you sure, Blake?" Jaune smiled.

"What? Yes! O-of course." Blake groaned. " **You're not supposed to ASK that…"**

"Alright then. Hey Blake…" Blake looked up as Jaune leaned forward, taken by surprise at the kiss as he laid her on her back. His fingers traced her breasts once more, moving down to her thighs, and removing her lowleg with one movement. Jaune looked down at her exposed entrance, smiling. "You're pretty wet. I don't think that's from the water, though."

"H-hey!" Blake started. " **It's his fault, isn't it?"** "Just… Do it, okay? I want to…" She smiled nervously. "I… want to lose my virginity to you, Jaune. Please?"

Jaune was almost too stunned to move. He had expected this was how it would play out, but to see Blake lying there exposed, asking for him to-

"Jaune…" Blake wiggled impatiently.

"Right." Jaune positioned himself between her legs, spreading them apart and inching towards her. He rubbed his dick against the entrance, probing gently. Blake's hand, which had latched onto his own arm, tightened each time he brushed against the small nub above the opening. He heard her voice each time, moaning softly. Finally, with a soft push, he entered into her folds.

" _Hyaaah!"_ Blake cried out as Jaune broke through her hymen. He paused in concern as he saw the telltale blood leak from where they connected, but she looked up at him and smiled reassuringly. "It… It doesn't hurt much, Jaune. Really. You can keep going." " **I want to feel everything about this moment."**

Not needing another confirmation, Jaune proceeded, pumping his hips in rhythm, their wet flesh slapping together with each thrust. Each instant sent stimulation like jolts of electricity shooting through his body. All previous attempts to stay quiet were out the window, Blake's moaning grew more pitched with each moment.

"J-Jaune," she gasped. "The floor is… kind of cold." " **I want to feel him with me… We're too far apart."**

Jaune smiled, leaning forward to scoop her onto his lap. As he began to move again, she ground against him desperately. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, squeezing her breasts against him; Her warm breath brushed against his face, in synch with the rhythmic motion of their hips. Every time she sunk down, a cute cry issued forth from her, and her nails dug into his back.

"Oh, god… More… More!" She mumbled almost drunkenly into his ear. Jaune complied; his hips thrust him deeper, and he could feel her womb with each push. Blake jerked each time, completely lost in the sensation. Her body no longer listened to her, and she moved faster and faster with each second. "You're… _hah…_ Getting really deep… I can't… I can't last…!"

Jaune was reaching his limit, too: Her vagina wrapped around him tightly, sucking him in. He couldn't think anymore, and his lower body began to burn pleasantly. It built up rapidly, tensing and preparing to let fly. "B-Blake… I'm going to…"

"You're… cumming, r-right?" She panted. "Jaune… Do it! Inside me… Inside me~!" Blake's legs locked him in place as the pressure became too much to bear. He felt her folds squeeze him tighter than ever before, spasming as she hit her orgasm; he let his own loose, spilling his hot semen deep into her and filling her womb. They held each other tightly, breathing heavily, enjoying the bliss of the moment.

Jaune locked his eyes with hers, knowing exactly what to do without the need of reading her mind. He smiled warmly, whispering softly, "I love you, Blake…" and locking her lips once more in a deep, gentle kiss as their breathing slowed.

After a few minutes, Jaune and Blake still connected, Blake sat up. "We should probably get back." " **I really don't want to get busted like this… And I know** _ **he**_ **certainly wouldn't…"**

Jaune sighed. "Yeah, they should be about done with Cardin and the others by now." Blake looked quizzically at him, and he laughed. "Be glad you weren't there. Although you may need someone to find your clothes."

"Right." She nodded, unsure. "Well, anyway…" She stood up slowly, blushing a little at the residual sensitivity. Jaune's semen dripped out of her slightly as she frantically looked around for her swimsuit. "Ah…" She spotted it a little way away, and Jaune walked over to pick it up. "Quick, can you-?" She motioned him over urgently. Smiling slightly confused, he spread the lowleg out for her to step in. Once her legs were in the holes, he slid them back into place. Blake sighed with a small smile. "Good. thanks."

"What was that about?"

"They'll…" Blake motioned to her crotch embarrassedly. "...help keep it in." She wandered, then, over to her top, picking it up and waving it at Jaune. "This, too? It's, erm… hard to get the back."

 **XXXXXX-XXXXXX**

 **Twisted~ So, there's the thing. WIth the things, and their perverted things. I was uninvolved! Like, I went to bed while they did this.**

 **Mika~ -eeeeeee. So yeah, we did pervy stuff.**

 **Twisted~ Blake is such perv. Mika is more perv. T.O.G. is most perv. I is pure.**

 **Mika~ I more perv than TOG. No lemon made, though.**

 **T.O.G.~ Mind you, there** _ **TECHNICALLY**_ **could have been two lemons this scene. Part of me wants to stick to a "one-per-chapter" basis, part of me was lazy. *Blehhh* If you guys really want it, I'll put a Luna X Kit scene in a later chapter. Might as well, as the two of them have good chemistry already… I'll hold it over your head.**

 **As if slowly basting a turkey.**

 **Which I will then proceed to have sex with.**

 **THAT'S RIGHT.**

 **I'm going to FUCK the lemon turkey!**

 **Twisted~ Someone watches too much Hellsing...**


	22. Chapter 22

**Twisted~ Hiyo, guys! A thing, a new thing, a spectacular new thing! XD**

 **Mika~ Actually old thing, But still Spectacular!**

 **Twisted~ Yus. Much spectacular, like Yang's handwriting is now. XD**

 **Mika~ Honestly, it might have been an improvement over her usual…**

 **Twisted~ Yes, then. Yang has been, shall we say... DISARMED Hehe~ She had a bad day, but I guess she went out with a good YANG, eh?**

 **Mika~ HAHAH. Funny. *Is bad* She needs a HAND now to tell you how bad it was.**

 **Twisted~ I guess she didn't make the RIGHT decision. XD**

 **Mika~ And look- Penny is laughing herself to PIECES.**

 **Twisted~ Tickets only cost a QUARTER to get on the train. I mean, you could say her body wasn't 'Combat Ready' after all, eh?**

 **Mika~ Oh, but don't worry- Yang's allRIGHT.**

 **Twisted~ I guess Adam made the RIGHT decisions. Let's give him a HAND since he did so well. Maybe a HIGHFIVE?**

 **Mika~ We're both going to hell. I'll bring the Popcorn!**

 **T.O.G.~ She may have a problem playing basketball. On the one hand, she may never get a slam-dunk again. On the other… We'll see.**

 **Twisted~ Hehe… Oh, uh, spoiler warning?**

 **T.O.G.~ SCREW. THAT. If you haven't been keeping up with the ACTUAL FUCKING SHOW and are sitting here reading FANFICTIONS about it, you're asking for spoilers out the wazoo.**

 **Mika~ So yeah. Spoilers. CANNOT UNSEE.**

 **Twisted~... I blame T.O.G…. somehow. Because fuck it.**

 **T.O.G~ …. Puns for days?**

 **Twisted~ Puns for days.**

 **Mika~ I feel my femininity leeching off of me every second. I need some girl friends…**

 **Twisted~ I guess we really ARE going to hell…. Can we at least SING?~**

 **Mika~ FUCK YOU! MOTHE- *Being held back***

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Help me up with this, okay?" Blake asked as she tried to climb up the relatively steep ledge, Jaune watching her with an amused smile," Didn't come ready for climbing.. Getting down was easy. Up, not so much." She gave him a smile over her shoulder," And my legs are sore so…." " **If you want, you can help me up however you want..."**

"Yeah, yeah." He said breezily, climbing past her without any real challenge and turning around to offer his hand to her," Fair enough, I guess. Up ya get, then" She grabbed his hand, looking ever-so-slightly displeased, and he pulled her up easily enough," We probably need to hurry though, they might be wondering if we're alright. Been a few hours, I think."

"It's been one hour and around forty-five minutes, give or take a few." Blake said simply, shrugging when the blonde turned to give her a surprised look," What? I'm good at keeping up with time, always have been. My count would be more accurate but I was…." " **Having mind-blowing sex with you stole my attention span, go figure."** "...distracted."

Jaune laughed lightly, turning to follow her into the forest and towards the area everyone else was at," I guess you have a point…" He trailed off, watching her hips sway with a small smile, until he saw Blake catch him over her shoulder and smile, turning to look at the trees in embarrassment.

"You just had sex with me, Jaune. I think you're welcome to look at whatever you want now, you've seen and touched all of it after all." She teased, smiling slightly and turning to look at him," Relax." " **And if you want to touch it more..."**

"Still, I shouldn't just stare at you like a piece of meat. You're a lady, and one I happen to care for very deeply." Blake smiled, turning and putting both of her hands onto his chest as she kissed him deeply. Jaune gingerly put his hands on her hips, sharing the kiss with her.

"Pyrrha's going to be angry, you know." Blake said as she broke the kiss, leaning back to look up at him and smiling. "She'll be able to smell it, anyone who gets close will. _She_ is the likeliest to know what it is and care though." " **Well, aside from Weiss."**

"I suppose I should face the music if she figures it out… For now though…" Jaune sighed, dreading that conversation quite a bit if he were honest. "Would you be interested in getting something to eat later?"

"I'd love to." Blake said easily, smiling brightly at him with a slight twinkle in her eye and leaning in for another kiss. Pyrrha noticed them then, walking over with a relieved look, having searched for the better part of an hour thus far, before she caught a wiff of something and gained a level, calm look on her face, nose crinkling and eyes narrowing unhappily.

"So, did you two have a good time?" She asked smiling brightly and relaxing, though Jaune noted the cold color of her normally vibrant green eyes, now a cool emerald. "You were gone a _while_ and everyone was worried, so I hope you did." " **You fucking asshole… I trusted you, and you turn your back and fuck another girl? I can't… I can't believe this..."**

"We just got lost, Pyrrha. Sorry we worried you, but we thought we saw an Ursa and went to check. By the time we thought about it, we were lost." Blake said smoothly, reaching up and pantomiming checking Jaune's head," he hurt himself falling down a hill. Might have a concussion, but I dunno." " **Here's hoping she buys it… Damn, shouldn't have gone in for a second kiss."**

"Oh, he hurt himself falling down a hill? Is he okay?" Pyrrha said, nodding her head and playing along with a faux-sweet and concerned voice. " **Yeah, I'm not buying the Bullshit she's selling."**

"Yeah, he's fine. Or at least, I think he is, I'll ask his sister to check when we get back and make absolutely sure." Blake said with a small smile, looking around and faking confusion," Which way do we go?" " **Shit… She might know… Play it off, Blake..."**

"And are you sure he didn't land anywhere I, as his _Girlfriend_ , would disapprove of?" She asked in that same voice, smiling thinly at the duo. "Jaune?" " **I know you can hear me, you're looking at me. Be a man, speak up."**

"He probably shouldn't talk right now. The concussion might get worse, and I swear it felt like his jaw was swelling." Blake warned quietly, making a face of sympathy and grimacing. She was a _very_ good actress it seemed. "That said, I have no idea where he could have fallen that you would have any call to disapprove of." " **Did that work? Yeah, it probably did..."**

Pyrrha opened her mouth to speak and Jaune stepped between them, looking at Pyrrha coolly," I'll tell you in private, Pyr. I promise. I'll explain everything, and then we'll talk to Blake. And everyone will stay calm, okay?" Pyrrha glared at him, all pretense gone, searching his face with her eyes for any answers she could glean," Please?"

"Fine." She turned, walking back the way she'd come, and Jaune sighed in relief, watching her walk away angrily," This way." " **You better explain this to me, Jaune. And it had best be a damn good explanation as well."** Jaune gave Blake a look, and she smiled in sympathy, before they turned to follow her almost dejectedly.

 **XXX-XXX**

The walk back to the lake, while not truly a _long_ venture in any extent, could have been a thousand miles marching in the dead of winter for the thoughts and looks Pyrrha gave Jaune. Blake… tried to help, giving him comforting looks and pets on the shoulder - affection in her own way of living, confined by instinct and habit which made her more closed when others were near.

…...Jaune _hated_ that he knew that, because like with Pyrrha's own pain, he sensed that underlayer as well.

"I hope you enjoyed touching Ruby's underwear, because you won't feel anything else after I'm done with you!" " **You little pricks are Dead!"** Yang growled, flames occasionally licking from her hair occasionally in her utter rage.

"I-It was just a prank!" Cardin yelled desperately, shielding an unconscious Russel with himself against the irate woman," Come on, cool it off already! You hurt my partner, damnit!" " **Crazy Bitch! It was just a prank!"**

"I don't care, you son-of-abitch!" Yang screamed angrily, reaching down to yank him up by the scruff of his shirt," You touched Ruby's panties! Her bra! I'll fucking kill you!" " **Nobody touches her underwear except for her! And family, if we're washing it."**

"No, you won't." Luna said, interceding and grabbing the blonde by the throat, sweeping her leg and slamming her elbow into the falling woman's stomach, slamming her into the ground and taking a step back while Cardin scrambled away in surprise," _You_ will stand down or I will put you out for a bit." She looked up when she saw Jaune and Blake approaching, following Pyrrha closely," And then we're going to get everyone together and go home, to have him punished." " **And He will be punished, the little pervert..."**

"What is going on here?" Jaune asked abruptly, stepping past Pyrrha - who he made sure to give plenty of space - to walk over to Cardin and Luna, "What the hell did you idiots do this time, Winchester?"

"It was just a prank, I swear! We didn't even touch most of it, just swept 'em all into a basket and emptied it over the tree!" " **It wasn't that bad! We didn't do anything else!"** He said defensively, looking at the blonde in fear and desperation," C'mon, man, get the blonde bitch to back-"

"Don't even start calling her names, dumbass." Jaune warned, watching the trembling woman glaring at the cocky young man," That is not even a _remotely_ intelligent decision, but I thought that much was pretty obvious."

He gave the woman a glance and nodded, Luna grabbing Yang and pulling her away," Come on, we'll go get the others together and mister Winchester can load everyone's things."

Cardin wisely elected to not argue.

 **XXX** - **XXX**

"So…" Pyrrha said lowly, glaring at Blake without even a hint of effort at hiding her contempt and anger. "Why did you sleep with Jaune? You have Weiss, Jaune was _mine_ not yours!"

"Both of us feel exactly the same way about Jaune as you do, Pyrrha." Blake said with a sigh, Weiss turning red as a tomato and staring at her lap next to Blake in embarassment. "And with HIS personality… I'm surprised we aren't dealing with more girls aside from us three."

"That doesn't change the fact that you slept with my boyfriend!" Pyrrha growled.

"Would you rather it have been me, or some skank looking for a quick fuck at some bar?" Blake asked pointedly, crossing her arms on her bed and glaring at her," Frankly, you should have done it already."

"You should have talked to me first then, before even thinking of doing anything at all!" Pyrrha hissed angrily, gesturing at Weiss," She, at least, didn't sneak off with him and screw him! Whether she'd _want to_ isn't as relevant as that is, Blake!"

"And what, I ask, would your response have been if I _had_ told you? I know, and you know, you'd have not been in any way supportive of it." Blake growled, head lowering threateningly and ears flicking in aggravation," I won't surrender my happiness so easily, Nikos. And I will fight even harder for Weiss' happiness besides."

"B-Blake, I don't want to cause him any-" Weiss stuttered.

"I'd have gone to him first! Asked _his_ opinion on all of this and gone from there!" Pyrrha said loudly, green eyes shining with anger veiling sorrow," No one would have gotten hurt my way, Blake! Not me, or you or Weiss, or Jaune!"

"We both know you wouldn't have allowed it!" Blake argued calmly, at least on the surface, raising an eyebrow to show her disbelief towards the idea," You would have taken him yourself and refused to share with me or Weiss, and we deserve to have something too you know."

"Look, you guys, you're both right." Weiss interrupted, the two irate women turning to give her a glare and surprised look for Pyrrha and Blake respectively, making the heiress flinch slightly," I-I mean that Pyrrha is right that we should have said something to her. Or, you rather, I guess. And Blake, you're right that we deserve to be happy. We just… need to cooperate on it and communicate better."

The two women looked at each other, then back to Weiss, and both seemed to consider the words for several seconds before Pyrrha spoke," Fine. I can… accept that, I guess. It's the best option for everyone involved to be happy so…"

Weiss smiled slightly, turning to look at Blake and giving a nudge with her head to try and direct her. The raven-haired woman rolled her eyes at the Schnee, smiling ever-so-slightly," Same here. And I apologize, I suppose, for going behind your back as I did. I will… work on communicating better in the future."

And somewhere far off, hiding in a closet currently, Jaune felt a chill go up his spine.


	23. Chapter 23

**Twisted~ Okay, so SOMEONE called our story sexist. Luckily that shall be addressed, you impatient tits.**

 **Mika~ If anything, It's sexist towards men. The perverted, horny bastards out there, who always ruin ou-**

 **Twisted~ I am happy to be a plant! Very happy!**

 **Mika~ A-anyways, both of us don't really understand romance well. For two separate reasons- I'm the child of Neo and a Hex Maniac. Or Neo and Tharja, if Tharja was also mute.**

 **Twisted~ And I am a plant, but none of this means we don't know what we're doing. Have some faith in us. Or at least Mika.**

 **Mika~ That's right. Have faith in me. Anyone who doesn't… *Prepares Smiter***

 **Twisted~ You may not** _ **smite**_ **our readers, Mika. No. Bad.**

 **Mika~ *Smites* No arguments! Your Kitsune Goddess commands it!**

 **Twisted~ Mika, I will thump the goddess out of you. Behave. *holds rolled up newspaper threateningly***

 **Mika~ *cowers under sofa* Nu!**

 **Twisted~ That's what I thought. Behave or get thumped.**

 **Mika~ Never! *Newspaper'd***

 **Twisted~ *sigh* I** _ **told you**_ **, Mika-chan. Besides, if you kill more of our fans who will read our stuffs?**

 **Mika~ I'm sorrweee…**

 **Twisted~ Good, now write le story.**

 **XXXX-XXXX**

Jaune let out a groan as he clutched his stomach, his remaining aura a faint sliver as Pyrrha gave a smile that didn't go up to her eyes and stretched languidly a few feet away from him. The ride back to Beacon had been a quite affair, and an awkward one as well, and as soon as they'd arrived the Spatiate woman had practically dragged him away into the school's grounds for 'training'.

Which had quickly been shown to translate to 'punishment time for the dumb dumb', something Weiss and Blake both seemed entirely too okay with for his Weiss had mentioned that Blake would also be training with her whenever the other two took breaks, and all of the Faunus' amusement evaporated.

"Your turn, Weiss!" " **Have fun. I'd do it myself, but I couldn't control myself if I did… and Miss Goodwitch said not to hurt each other."** Pyrrha said cheerfully as Blake slowly stood up, passing Jaune her icepack and moving to take her own position for her own spar with Weiss unhappily. She would need it later, but Jaune could borrow it for a few minutes while Blake dealt with Weiss's rather deserved aggravation. Jaune sighed, watching Weiss and Blake fight for the third time that day and genuinely not looking forward to fighting the… _irate_ Schnee girl. Pyrrha, across the small training room, gave the tired blonde a look of aggravation when she saw him looking at her, and raised an eyebrow while she took a drink, " **You brought this on yourself, Jaune."**

He rolled his eyes, and sighed tiredly, watching Weiss fling Blake onto the nearby wall, cracking it in a few places as Blake rolled and ran in to attack her a second time. Weiss spun, a black glyph flickering into place beneath Blake and intensifying the gravity until the woman collapsed under the strain, Weiss smiling almost sadistically at her, "This is what happens when you are inconsiderate, _Blake_." " **We agreed to flip coins to see who would win first, you fiend! You cheated!"**

Blake tried her hardest to pull herself to her feet, arms and legs straining beneath her and slowly lifting her panting form up to her hands and knees, and the brunette smiled, "You know, Weiss, this is the _second_ time I've been panting on my knees like this." " **I enjoyed the last time, though...This time sucks, a lot, and not like last time either."**

Weiss froze for a few seconds before shrieking angrily and flicking Myrtenaster to the side, her tail mirroring the action in aggravation, the black glyph hurling the Faunus across the room and into the furthest wall, "Y-You fiendish Faunus rapscallion!" " **That was too far! The fiend!"**

Blake staggered to her feet and Jaune checked the monitoring Scroll to see her Aura, nearly completely gone, and had to decide if he was _happy_ or _terrified_ when Pyrrha stood up and waved Weiss down to call the match, "Weiss, calm down, Blake can't go on, her Aura has almost run out so she needs to stop for now." " **It's barely there. A single hit could've injured her badly..."**

"Well, that means I should get some time with Jaune then since my turn was so short." The Schnee huffed, giving the blonde a glare that could melt… Well, one that could melt Weiss. "So get your sword, you... oaf."

"Very well, since Blake is out you may have the last match with Jaune." Pyrrha gave the blonde a look and smirked, waving him over and onto the combat area, "you don't mind, of course, do you, Jaune?" " **Of course you don't mind- You don't have a choice, do you Jaune?"**

"N-No, I don't mind at all! Why would I?" He said, grabbing his sword and walking to stand across from the irate Schnee, "I mean, she wouldn't _hurt_ me, now would you, Snow Angel?"

"I hate that name, you dunce!" She shrieked, flicking Myrtenaster again. Jaune blinked and, within the time that very blink took, found himself slamming into a wall hard enough to knock the wind out of his lungs and leave him dangling there, over the door, when Yang walked in, holding a large black binder with her name stenciled in gold on the front, and looked up at him in surprise.

"Uh, hey, Jaune. How ya hanging?" " **-"** She smiled, and across the room Jaune heard both Blake and Weiss groan in an almost pained way. Yang smiled and held the binder over her head, "Don't moan, Weissy, I brought you the thing!" " **No idea why you asked me to bring it… It's in some other language too, which is… weird."**

"The thing?" Jaune asked innocently, slowly sliding out of the divot in the wall that he'd carved with his body and rolling when he landed, staggering upright clumsily and leaning his hands on his knees to catch his breath, "And yes, I am just fine, thank you for asking."

"Hey, you're the one who fucked up here, Jauney Boy. Not me, so you can chill the attitude, since you're tapping _my_ Partner." Yang grabbed his hood harshly, the blonde unable to read her thoughts since he was looking at the floor and thus unable to dodge it or prevent it in any real way, "Don't mess with the Bellabooty or the only thing you'll be tapping is the lid on your coffin, 'kay?" " **Break her heart, I break you. You've already broken Weiss's."**

Normally, Jaune would have shivered under the glare from the woman, but he could see her eyes now. Lilac, not red, so protective rather than angry and thus not dangerous. Confidence was better for normal Yang when she was protective, not supplication, so…

"Listen, Yang, I'm not _messing_ with anyone. That's not what this, or what happened before, are in even the slightest respect. You should probably figure that out very quickly or you'll look bad," He sighed and turned back to Weiss, flicking his Crocea Mors and walking towards her, ignoring Yang's surprised face and smiling slightly, "Ready for another round, Weiss? I have a bit of Aura left."

" **Is he suicidal? He'll get hurt even more!"** "-But you're exhausted! And she's here now anyways, so we can stop now and rest for a while." Weiss blinked several times in mild surprise, watching Jaune walk towards her and lowering Myrtenaster slightly, " We don't want to hurt you, not too badly, and certainly not for something… silly like that."

"Yes, we can be done now, Jaune!" " **I think you've had enough punishment for one day... "** Pyrrha said quickly, waving her arms and jogging close enough to speak comfortably to the trio and smiling nervously, "We were just waiting for Yang to print off those things for us, working out our… aggravations was just on the side." " **A few relationship things."**

"Anyways~" Yang half-sang, shoving past Jaune brightly and waving the folder in the air happily, "I got the thing like you asked, couldn't read it though. What's it about? Lots of stuff in there, ya know." " **And I can't read ANY of it, dammit!"**

"Uh, it's, well… It's about…" Weiss glanced at Jaune for a half-second and blushed, looking at the ground and muttering the last, "Just important stuff, that's all." " **Stuff on… relationships and… Marriages."**

Jaune blinked and sighed, plopping down where he sat and looking at the small Schnee flatly, "Then do share, Snow Angel."

Weiss looked ready to argue, mouth open and eyes set like normal, before she sighed herself and looked at Yang. "Xiao Long, will you please get us some chairs and a table? Blake, get us some tea?" " **We may be here a while..."**

"Fiiiiiiiine~" Yang half-whined, turning and walking out of the room with her arms crossed behind her head comfortably, "Slave drivers~"

It didn't take overlong for Yang to return, carrying a table and half-a-dozen chairs over her head easily, yet at the same time looking ready to teter over at any moment, and helping Pyrrha set them up in the middle of the pale white training room. Blake showed up a few minutes later, just barely avoiding the work of setting everything up with the others, with several pizzas, a few sodas and some tea on a large silver tray.

"Hi guys, I got leftovers from the cafeteria for everyone." " **They were about to throw them away because they were a bit old"** Blake smiled when Yang grabbed two of the six pizzas and started jogging from the room like she was being chased, just ahead of one of the chairs being flung by Weiss' glyphs.

"Thanksalot, see ya later Blakey!" And then she vanished around the corner of the door, it slamming shut behind her rather loudly, and Weiss coughed lightly to get the remaining three's attention.

"Please, everyone, kindly sit the _Hölle_ down." " **This is important, you insufferable little shits..."** She took a deceptively calm sip of the tea Blake had given her, and glared at them impatiently until Jaune sighed and the three of them did as asked. Or maybe ordered would be a more relevant term, since Weiss didn't really seem to _ask_ for much at all.

"Okay… First off is Vale then, since we're living here. Vale is indifferent towards polygamous relationships, at least in the general sense and the more important legal one. It's more uncommon than usual, but is accepted at the least as a norm of enough quality to be regarded as nothing of any real consequence." Weiss paused for a second to take a drink of her tea, looking at Pyrrha calmly out of the corner of her eye, "Jaune is Valean, which is why he wouldn't think twice on it in all likelihood."

"Jaune is from Menagerie, though, and that's closer to Mistral than Vale." " **And a very Faunus-friendly place as well."** Blake spoke in thought, getting a surprised grunt from Weiss and Jaune both, the pale Faunus blinking in slight surprise.

"How'd you know that?" Weiss asked quietly, looking at Blake in slight curiosity and setting her cup down with a slight clink, "Not important, nevermind. Vale sends Menagerie the most support, so it leans towards Valean culture moreso than Mistralian, which sends very little support in comparison."

"And Mistral… Isn't really well liked back home." Jaune said with a frown, grimacing slightly in remembrance. "We still remember what happened during the War way too clearly there to ever want much to do with them."

Pyrrha glanced down, only to perk up as Jaune put a hand on her shoulder in support from where he was sitting beside her. "A lot of the fighting happened in Mistralian territory, around Menagerie. Some… mistakes occurred eventually. It was inevitable, I suppose. Tragic events do sometimes tend to be tragically inevitable. Between the fighting between Kingdoms and the Grimm showing up occasionally, things were… Brutal. Many of the trenches and even some of the old vehicles are still around the furthest outskirts in No-Man's Land, teeming with Grimm." " **And I heard rumors that Menagerie still has a few in their territory… Is it true, Jaune? Do the scars truly run so deep as that?"**

"Yeah, we even have a few in Menagerie. You can see one of the bigger battlefields from on top of the walls on a good day too, if the fog rolls out to sea instead of going inland." He grimaced and gave her a slight nod, answering her unasked question with ease, "Good business for scrapping though, and history nuts too, if they can afford a few Hunters. There's a Museum that buys any good stuff anyone brings in."

"But we all digress back to the topic at hand," Weiss interrupted, glaring slightly in irritation at the distraction. "I believe it was time we discuss Atlas, and I'd very much like to do that. This is… awkward enough without drawing it out, you understand." " **I'd like to get to my portion as soon as possible."**

"Of course, Weiss." Jaune said with a polite and, relatively, apologetic nod. "You just go ahead then, alright?"

"Atlas is a lot more… Strict… with those rules than Vale. Individual marriages must be arranged, the weddings that occur bind the husband or husbands and wives or wife together. In effect, two girls loving the same man marry each-other and the husband in the same motion or the reverse, in that the husband marries both girls. This was all mostly for convenience, since so many aristocrats used marriages to seal contracts and bind families. Everyone ends up happy this way, at the least. And finally, Mistral." Weiss sighed as she read it, looking at Pyrrha apologetically. "Their society dislikes multiple marriages, but accepts them from different Kingdoms, at least technically. I… don't much know why they dislike them so much, honestly, but it is a problem which exists and will continue to be one so long as… _This_ ," she gestured at all of them with a wave, grimacing and blushing slightly, "exists." " **We'd all get to marry Jaune. Like we wanted."**

"So…. none of you have problems with this then? I had thought that you did, since you were irate as I was." " **You were just as angry as I was."** Pyrrha mumbled, looking at her untouched glass of tea in slight confusion.

"It was more the fact that she went behind our backs than anything else, really. That was what was angering about the situation, really." Weiss explained simply, looking at Blake coldly, " _That_ was entirely uncalled for and is not okay." " **We promised to share, after all, and I wanted to go first..."**

"You want me to grab dinner for you girls while you all… sort out the finer details of stuff?" Jaune asked, standing up and rubbing his neck nervously. "I don't mind at all, really. It's fine with me."

"That would be quite polite of you. See if you can find something more... Not pizza." Weiss said simply, looking at the slices of Mistralian food in slights disatisfaction, "If you can get them, at least." " **Anything would be better than Pizza..."**

He nodded, walking out of the room quickly in hopes of not having to deal with that particular chat, nearly running smack into his sister outside the door to the room. "I've found Jaune, sis." " **Whatever it is, hope it's good news..."** Luna said calmly, giving a gentle smile as she talked into her open phone, motioning for Jaune to get closer so he could hear too. "He can't talk for long though, he had... Training with some of his friends at school and needs his rest after how stressful it was."

"Jaune? I have good news!" Lily, another one of his many sisters, said happily as she spoke from the scroll, her green-haired, fox-eared picture on the scroll blinking with every word and smiling cutely. Lily, unlike Luna, Flare, or even Jaune, had no dreams of being a Hunter nor had she ever been interested in it at all. She was instead a florist, and had met her husband as they both were shopping for supplies five years prior.

"You're on speaker, big sis!" Nyx sounded out happily as Jaune realized that this was a family call and sighed both tiredly and amusedly. "We couldn't get the others, though… Probably busy on some job or another like the usual."

"I'm up..." Flare's voice sounded out, sounding tired as she gave a yawn. "It's late here though… What's so important?"

"I'll just tell them later then, they do important stuff after all so I can wait. Once I get back in contact with them, I am sure they'll wanna know all about it!" She took a very loud breath very quickly, her excitable nature often making her talk faster than she could breathe, before speaking again. "Everyone, Me and Jonathan have great news. I'm pregnant! We found out this morning!"

"Congrats, sis! You guys did want some squirts of your own." Jaune and Luna said as Flare chuckled, Nyx squeed, and Celeste gave a gentle laugh as per her usual. " **Oh my god, I'm going to be an aunt!"**

"I know you'll make a wonderful mother, dear." Celeste said easily, the smile nearly audible in her voice alone. "And remember, I still have notes on all of you. SO if they act like Jaune did as a babe, let me know."

"Hey! I wasn't that bad…" Jaune nearly whined, pouting slightly at the screen and thanking Oum that they couldn't see him at all.

"Dear, you would scream and fuss if you couldn't see me. And you wouldn't sleep without your boo bear and footy pajamas." Celeste argued simply, amusement even more evident in her voice than before, "So hush, and let me advise your sister and her husband."

"F-Footy pajamas? Really now?" Jonathan laughed lightly, Lily's icon flashing a few times when he started chuckling and Jaune sighed. "I thought you were supposed to have been a tough guy."

"Shut up, old man. You seem to forget that you married _my_ sister. She just recently broke her warm milk and kiss Dad before bed thing." Jaune teased, smiling at the screen when he heard her screech indignantly in the background, followed by a thud, and then by a groan and whine of 'Jaaaaaaaaune'.

"She still does that though. With me. Warm milk, then a kiss and sometimes a story if she had a long day." Jonathan shot back, chuckling quietly and followed by yet another indignant shriek of protest and whine.

"Now, now, don't tease your sister, Jaune. It isn't gentlemanly of you at all, nuh uh." Flare said chidingly, before laughing and adding, "Besides, I'm the only one who knows about-"

"Don't you even dare, Flare!" Lily interrupted loudly, voice blasting out of the Scroll and making Jaune and everyone else laugh brightly, "I will spill the beans on you too, you were there! You were a part of it!"

"...Noodle…" Nyx whispered in an almost traumatized voice, "The noodles got absolutely everywhere… Nothing escaped its noodly attack..."

"Nyx!" Everyone but Jaune and Jonathan shrieked indignantly, Jaune holding the Scroll at arm's length warily and wincing.

"Last word on the situation, I promise- I'm sorry for the steam. I thought It would help but it did not. It made everything so much… hotter it was uncomfortable, and I'm sorry for that." Flare said sadly, mumbling to herself about ruined outfits in the background.

"Anywayyysss…" Celeste interrupted, laughing in the background lightly. "How about we focus on my eldest daughter right now instead of horrible, hot noodles of violation? Have you thought of any names, dear?"

"Is… anyone going to explain it to us?" Jaune asked quietly, causing a long, almost tense, silence on all the lines. "I mean, I feel like me and Jon are kinda being left out is all."

"Well you see, Jaune, when a mommy Lily and a daddy Jon love each other very much-"

"Not funny, Lil!" Jaune half-shouted, glaring at Luna beside him when she laughed brightly, "Don't laugh, or I'll start calling you Lulu again, Luna!"

"Lulu?!" Jonathan croaked, laughing loudly on his end while Luna groaned almost painedly next to Jaune and gave the blonde her best evil eye.

"You're WHAT?!" Jacques said with a shout, icon flashing brightly and sliding onto the screen beside the others. "He did WHAT to my babygirl?"

"Dad, he's kind of my husband. It's expected of us to eventually have a child, if we want..."

"There he goes. Took him long enough to show up when I messaged him..." Luna said with a warm, amused smile. "Might, uh, wanna go now, Jauney. Unless you wanna be part of the fun, of course."

"He's been sitting here, listening to our call and gaping like a fish out of water for five minutes…." Celeste sighed amusedly, "Just grabbed his Scroll a second ago and started requesting an add from me."

Jaune sighed, clicking his Scroll closed and giving Luna a look, "You can call back in on your own if you want to join them, I'm tired enough. And embarrassed enough as well, so I don't much feel like…"

" **I can't believe he had a bear named Boo… Explains the onesie, though."** He blinked in fear, watching Blake slink away with her Scroll held high, and sighed sufferingly and watched her show it to the others.

"Well fuck me sideways…."

 **XXXX-XXXX**

"So, what was that call about, 'Boo Bear'?" Yang said with a smile, following a mildly aggravated Jaune towards the cafeteria boredly, "Or do you not wanna talk about it just yet? Cuz you _know_ they are."

"Yeah, you're probably-"

" **Torchwick's slowed down his Dust intake... I wish I could take a break and just be myself for once, I'm running myself ragged out here."** Jaune recognized the name the raven-haired woman had thought, but he couldn't place it. He'd been just about to chalk it up as a random person that came to Vale like he had, her uniform showing as much, when he heard something impossible that had stopped his words to Yang.

" **JuSt sTay the cOurSe, CinDer, and YoU ShAlL gEt sOmE TiMe ONce tHaT WrEtcHeD ScHoOl iS IN Ruins. MY dRaGoN iS pRePArEd, it MEreLy aWaITs yoUr Command TO STrIKE."** Jaune blinked in surprise, stopping and turning to watch the woman walk by in shock, and the woman gave him an odd look before turning away. " **WaIt… I FEel sOmEtHiNg WrONg HEre, NoW. NEARby.**

 **XXXX-XXXX**

 **Twisted~ We did the thing, guys.**

 **Mika~ *Collapses* I'm exhausted… I'm running a Quest now over at QQ. Yay…**

 **Twisted~ We foreshadowed, you guyz!**

 **Mika~ This has been planned for a while. Since before Salem became a thing, actually.**

 **Twisted~ We have plans, you guys!**


	24. Chapter 24 (fixed)

**Twisted~ Hiiiiii guys! We're baaaaaaaaack~!**

 **Mika~ *Is tired* Yayyyy…**

 **Twisted~ Why you tired? Nu be tired! *wakes you up* Now not tired!**

 **Mika~ *Is sleepy* Yaaayyyy… zzzzz….**

 **Twisted~ *flails and glomps Mika* Nuuuuuuuuu~!**

 **Mika~ ….zzzzz...zzz**

 **Twisted~ *photosynthesises sadly* Mikaaaaaaaaaaa~!**

 **Mika~ *Paw twitch***

 **Twisted~...I'll delete Katawa Shoujo from your computer. And permanently block the site. *smirks***

 **Mika~ *Wakes up* NUUUUU!**

 **Twisted~ And we have a Mika guys, because her weakness is light porn.**

 **Mika~ No, no it isn't! It's cute, dammit!**

 **Twisted~ Yes, it is. I have played it a couple times. It's cute, but it's still porn. Which is fine, mind you. You are a pervert, everyone knows this.**

 **Mika~ Stop giving them ideas, Baka!**

 **Twisted~ Giving….. Who ideas?**

 **Mika~ The readers! Stupid plant…**

 **Twisted~ I am confused! *photosynthesises confusedly***

 **Mika~ *Noms plant***

 **Twisted~ *flails* Nunununnuu! Nu nom!**

 **Mika~ *Nom***

 **Twisted~ *pouts* Why are you nibbling me…..**

 **XXX-XXX-XXX**

"Jaune, will you please tell me what's got you so upset?" Pyrrha muttered against his shoulder, curled up on his bed in their dorm alone. He'd sent her a message some time ago, saying that he needed her help in their dorm. Then when she'd show up, he'd pulled her down and they'd stayed. "I'm worried about you, Jaune." " **-"**

"I was walking around, like normal, and hearing everyone's passing thoughts like I always do. Tuning them out as best I can, and..." He paused, hand pausing in the redhead's hair where'd he'd been slowly stroking it, "I heard another voice. They were _talking_ to each other, and the voice didn't sound normal. Didn't sound _human_ even."

"What do you mean? I've read that people have theories on multiple personalities but… This sounds different from even that, though." Pyrrha said quietly, face growing grim as she thought about what it could mean, "An inhuman voice…" " **-personalities, and more than one… But that's not possible, it defies Aura,"**

"It sounded wrong, broken in a way. As though… As though it were grieving, angry, confused and afraid all at the same time as being commanding and demanding. Whatever it was, it was giving her _orders_." He gave her a grave look, staring at the top of her head so he could hear her thoughts out of habit, "And it knew I was listening to them, even warned her about it and everything."

"What?" Pyrrha's head snapped up, looking at him with a shocked face, emerald eyes wide in confusion and astonishment, "That should be impossible! Communication, if that is what manner of Semblance she has, as well as the ability to sense other's abilities and when they're using them? And even who, specifically, is using them and when? That… I don't see how this is a possibility, Jaune." " **That's just too many broad skills to be a single semblance. And multiple semblances… Is impossible, unless her soul is shattered, which itself is as terrifying as it is telling. And neither are in good ways in the slightest."**

"I know, that's why I panicked and ran back here. When she looked at me I felt… I don't know, I felt like a child staring up at a Grimm. I couldn't _do_ anything, and we both knew it, so I ran." Jaune sighed tiredly, grimacing and looking at her in obvious anxiety, "She knows it was me who heard it, and I didn't get the feeling she exactly liked me continuing to breathe after what I heard."

"Then we should tell Ozpin about it, about you. Whatever she's planning, he'll be able to stop it from getting to where she wants it." Pyrrha sat up, rolling her neck and stretching out before looking at him, "We need to go, and talk to him. It's not safe for you otherwise, she could attack at literally any moment." " **And I doubt I can protect you, if she's as dangerous as you feel her to be."**

"But what if they don't believe me, Pyrrha? What if Ozpin… He already knows about my abilities, but what if he ignores me, and things only get worse as a result? Or-Or what if he does listen, and tries to do something, and more people get hurt? I-I can't… I don't think we should-" He'd stood up at some point, panicking and pacing in the room in absolute terror and feeling the chill in his spine from the voice in that woman's head. Pyrrha watched him for several seconds and sighed, before slapping him across the face.

"Jaune Arc, what is this school for?" He turned to look at her, surprise etched onto his face, and she glared at him, "I'll answer that question myself, actually. We are training to become the defenders of humanity itself. Everyone here is willing to die one day, if needed, for that goal. That includes the professors, and myself." " **Let us do our duties to this world as we swore to, Jaune. Trust us, please."**

"I… You're right, Pyrrha. Just like you always seem to be lately, I'm sorry." He sighed and smiled at her slightly for a second. She smiled back and he opened her mouth to speak, to ask what she wanted to do about this next, and they both flinched when the door swung open and Nora strode in with a wide smile.

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii guys~ Whatcha doin'?" " **Are you forgiving Jaunie already, Pyrrha? That's so boring though~!"** She smiled and waved at the duo, jumping up onto the bed and flopping down where Ren usually rested his head. Jaune gave Pyrrha a look, and then sighed and sat on his own bed, nodding at her.

"Jaune… Found something out, and we need to talk to you and Ren, do you know if he's out of class yet?" The hyperactive hammer-wielder nodded brightly, smiling and humming to herself energetically as always, and Pyrrha flipped out her Scroll, "Then I'll call him, ask him to hurry along." She gave Jaune a look, quirking an eyebrow, " **Or would you rather talk to everyone together all at the same moment?"**

Jaune simply shook his head, more thankful than he had been all day for this ability that allowed him to so easily communicate with his friends, and she walked off with a small nod to call Ren. And left him alone with Nora, who simply stared at him for several seconds before finally speaking, "You and Pyrrha were cuddling, weren't you Jaunie?" " **Is it about the sex you and Blake had? You used protection, right, we don't have to deal with Mini-jaunes just yet? Cuz, that'd be fun, but not fun at the same time. Which is rather odd, all things considered…"**

"Yeah, we've….. Everything is fine, Nora, I promise, you don't need to worry about it, so relax okay?" She blinked in surprise, wiggling stopping for all of three seconds, before smiling wider than she had all day.

"Awww, you don't have to worry about me, Jaunie! That's Ren's job, and he does that enough for everyone." " **He loves me, after all. That's part of the package."** She leapt across the room, slamming into him and pulling him into a warm hug, "But it's sweet anyway!" " **It's nice to have such a good team."**

Jaune sighed, taking a seat. "Alright then, It's time I told you guys my Semblance… And then tell we'll tell team RWBY, I need you all to know because… Something came up, and I don't know what to do." Jaune paused for a moment, to gauge their reactions, and groaned at the barrage of concern from half his team, Pyrrha simply biting her lip and sending him comforting, supporting thoughts.

"Do you want me to get them for you then?" Pyrrha said, standing up from her bed where she was sitting, across from Ren who had Nora 's head lying in his lap on his own bed, Jaune able to see and 'hear' them all clearly from his own in the corner. "It would be faster, would it not, to have them here as well?" " **To tell them, also."**

"I... maybe, I dunno. It'll be hard enough convincing these two, honestly." Jaune sighed, giving Ren and Nora a long look and drumming his fingers on the wood of his bed, below the mattress. "I... Well, you all know how weird, sometimes ludicrous, Semblances can be, right?"

"Yes, we are fully aware of the immense potentials of our Aura and Semblances. I can project small shields to protect myself from harm, and Nora can absorb any and all electricity and redirect it out of herself." Ren paused for a moment, eyes narrowing slightly in a curious expression, "Why do you ask?" " **Can he break time? Shapeshift into a massive organic cannon? Become an organic mech?!"**

Pyrrha sighed, out of anxiety more than anything else, and returned to her original seat, smoothing out her skirt absentmindedly, "Jaune has discovered his Semblance, and it is both a powerful variant of its type _and_ a rare type on its own." She gestured calmly, smiling and looking every bit the serene, pristine goddess so many fans saw her as, "Jaune has among the rarest of all classes and types of abilities, a mentally based one." " **There, Jaune, I've set you up, take it from here and stay calm. Just say what's true, you don't need anything but that."**

"My Semblance allows me… Well, forces me is a better description I guess, to hear the thoughts of anyone I'm facing. I don't know all the specifics, it's not been long enough to test it thoroughly enough, but… Well, whoever is the closest person I am facing is who I read, and if there's two an equal length away like you and Nora then it's whoever I look at," Jaune sighed, hands still drumming on the bed in direct spite of Pyrrha's advice, and did his best to avoid looking at his team, "I'm not looking at either of you so I don't, you know, use it… I don't like it."

Ren was quiet for a long time, almost a full minute, and Nora followed suit to let Ren think. She knew to allow that time, regardless of what _her_ reaction would be to the news and Ren's opinion, and Pyrrha waited patiently with a cool, calm face hiding every emotion she held. Then Ren spoke, softly and calmly, "You can't control your Semblance, Jaune, or what kind of Semblance you have. The fact you dislike reading our thoughts without our permission shows me enough about you to tell me that this is acceptable. Perhaps less than ideal, but acceptable nonetheless."

"Yeah! I mean, it's not like you've been manipulating people to make 'em do stuff, or messing with people, so it's fine!" " **Though if you use it to mess with Ren, I'll rip your legs off and feed them to you."** Nora smiled even more brightly hen Jaune flinched slightly, "Hehe, this'll be fun!" " **You can help me talk to Ren more easily, so you're quite useful."**

"I'm…. I'm glad you guys aren't angry with me. I was terrified you'd be angry at me, for obvious reasons…" Jaune sighed, relief and exhaustion both evident entirely on his face, and leaned back against the wall behind him, "I… guess it's just RWBY left to talk to now, right?"

"Well, it's been half an hour, and I messaged Weiss to have everyone come over fourty minutes ago so… Just wait, I suppose." Pyrrha shrugged nonchalantly, turning around and walking towards the bathroom, "I'm going to get changed, let me know if they arrive early."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Hiya, guys!" Yang half-yelled excitedly, kicking open the door and walking in with at least a dozen pizzas in her arms, Ruby walking up with a small bag filled with sauces of every manner and waving lightly, "What's up?"

"Yes, what on Remnant itself was so damned important? We need to study, there's a test in Grimm Studies tomorrow and Ruby is behind on the subject."Weiss said with a light, pained, sigh as she sat down on a chair next to the door. Blake simply waved and leaned against the door once it was shut, smiling and giving Jaune a nod before doing what she always did and watching everyone move about.

"Jaune has discovered something rather sinister, and wishes to share it with all of us prior to deciding what he elects to actually do about the matter. Do understand, this knowledge could very likely be dangerous to all of us." Pyrrha paused for a few seconds, mouth half-opened as though to speak, while she thought about what to say and adjusted on the bed where she was sitting as she had been before, like everyone else, "But it is our duty, and we all signed up to do it, to pursue these things."

"It has to do with my Semblance, which… I just want everyone to know, I care about you guys. You're my friends, and in some cases a touch more, and I'd _never_ do anything to use you. Pyrrha has known about this for months now, and I'd been thinking of telling you anyways soon…" He paused, looking to Pyrrha for help when words began to fail him, and the Spartan sighed with a small smile and leaned forward to speak, glad to be able to take care of him and step in here.

"Jaune has a Semblance that is the rarest among the rare, at least insofar as my research has shown on the subject. Jaune can actually read minds, a power only two others in recorded history have ever matched!" Pyrrha smiled brightly, pride in her team-mate pushing her to excitement, "The closest person whose face is revealed to his eyes revealed their souls and intent as well."

"Wait, so you seduced us? Told us what we wanted to hear, just to get into our pants?! Is that what happened between you and Blake after all?" " **I thought you weren't like all the others!"** Weiss said, as she stood up quickly from her seat and glared at the incredibly surprised Jaune before turning and yanking the door open angrily, gone before anyone even had time to react.

"Look, you guys figure what to do about… whatever, I'll go along. I'll take care of Weiss-cream for you, so relax." " **So, if you can hear me, I'll help her calm down."** She grabbed three of the pizzas and took off out the door, gone as fast as Weiss had been, and Jaune sighed and groaned as though pained and exhausted equally.

"That could have gone better." Blake admitted, looking at the door sadly before turning to Jaune. " **Weiss has had a lot of… Issues… with people like that. She'll probably apologize. Later or tomorrow, at the least."** "For now, you need to tell us everything you know, so we can decide what to do about it."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Twisted~ Is done! Lots of setup in this chapter.**

 **Mika~ Yep. Setup. Sorry for the wait and the comparably short chapter (Ugh.)**

 **Twisted~ We ish le busy! I has the Youtubes and work.**

 **Mika~ I has QQ and is looking for work!**

 **Twisted~ I is adulting!**

 **Mika~ Me too! Salon Day!**

 **Twisted~ I ish a sleepy plant.**

 **Mika~ *Kyuuu~***

 **Twisted~ *flails* She's making noises again~!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Twisted~ So, I have a new chapter~ Or, well, we do. You know what I mean. Anyways, though Mika won't help with it, I do intend to remake this story with a serious tone. Not a comedy or crack fic, a serious one. Jokes on the odd occasion, of course, but nothing like this. Been fun and all but… I know it is evident that comedy isn't my schtick.**

 **Mika~ I fully admit- When we first wrote this story, it was intended as a serious story, with a handful of jokes. However, I started pandering to the audience, which wanted more humor, until it eventually became the crack fic it is now. With that in mind… I can't do this anymore. Telepathy hadn't been fun for me for a while, and in fact I temporarily decided to abandon it. But I'm out of ideas, out of patience, and more importantly, I have been out of jokes for a long time.**

 **Twisted~ Which is fine. Happens to everyone sometimes, which is why we're going to wrap up this story so we may move on. Mika has her own story ideas we'll probably start putting up eventually after this story has it... (Shudders)** _ **Happy ending…**_

 **Mika~ (Chuckles to herself)**

 **Twisted~ S'not funny, you know what kinds of endings I write. Feels so wrong. Heretical, even.**

 **Mika~ Dat irony…**

 **Twisted~ Yes, I know of the irony, shushies your teeny, tiny face.**

 **Mika~ (Bonks your face)**

 **Twisted~ Why you do such mean things to me?! My poor, innocent face deserveth no bonkies! Anyways, enjoy the story.**

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Weiss!" Yang yelled, chasing after the fast-walking, and clearly angry, Schnee, "Weiss, wait up for a minute! Just talk to me, come on!" The Schnee spun on the spot, uniform skirt twirling slightly, to glare up at Yang and the blonde nearly ran into her before managing to stop, "You need to calm down, Snowflake."

"Why? He's clearly been manipulating all of us since the day he met us. He said it himself, he knows every single thought we have! In your world you don't need to worry about being used on a daily basis, but in mine I do!"Yang gave the smaller girl a sympathetic look, natural motherly nature taking hold for a moment, and Weiss' glare hardened, "You are all just too naive to see that he's manipulating you. I'm no fool."

"We're not naive, Weiss, you're just being emotional. Jaune could have convinced us to do a _lot_ of things if that's what he wanted. He didn't. Instead, he tried to make all of us happy, and now that a real danger is around what does he do?" Yang crossed her arm under her bust, smiling cockily at the Schnee and leaning away from her, "He immediately tells all of us, to try and find some sort of solution to it that doesn't end up with dead people. You know, our _job_?"

"It's different for you, Yang! You're not in love with him! You weren't toyed with until you grew feelings for him!" Weiss almost screamed, almost letting her emotions loose, before taking a deep and steadying breath, "I don't wish to see hide nor hair of him ever again. You _will_ respect that decision. Understood?"

"Not a chance in your frosty little world, Snowflake." Yang said simply, dismissing her demands and desires entirely and smiling at her, "You are going to go back in there, sit back down, and try gettin' with your man. Got it?"

"Wha- No! I don't want anything more to do with him, Yang! Why on Remnant would I even consider doing that?" The furious heiress shrieked, turning with a huff to resume her walk away from the room, "Forget it. Just leave me alone."

"So you're saying you never loved him? Not even a bit?" Yang asked quietly, following the irate, smaller woman through the otherwise empty hall, "Cuz we both know just how much bullshit that claim would be."

"It doesn't matter if I did or did not. It was due to his dishonesty and manipulation that I felt anything for him, so now I choose to feel nothing at all." Weiss sighed, almost tired sounding, and shook her head, "But you know that, yet still you follow me."

"Cuz I know you pretty well, Snowflake. You're scared, and looking for an out to get away from your feelings like normal. Now you have an option to buy some time, so you're taking it and running." Yang grabbed the smaller heiress' shoulder, spinning her around and shoving her against a wall, "I am not having that, not even a bit. You are my friend, dammit, and I will make you be happy!"

"What gives you the right to do that, Yang?" Weiss demanded angrily, back pressed against the wall and voice echoing off it around them mutedly, "What right to my future do you have? Last I checked, this was my decision not yours. And last I checked, that meant I got to make it, myself, not you."

"And you're throwing it away! You're screwing up, and I won't just _let_ you do that to yourself, you'll regret it until the day you die." Yang's glare grew hotter, lavender eyes shifting to a dark red in a blink, and Weiss shivered under the look, "I won't let you fuck yourself over like that."

"I am an adult, Yang, I can make my own damn decisions!" Weiss argued angrily, trying vainly to pry the boxer's grip out of her uniform's blazer, "Now let me go, damn it! I just want to go to the library and read something, think about what I want!"

"We both know what you want, Schnee. You want _him_ , and it scares you. Until now you've been fine, you had no reason to run from your fucking feelings. Now you have some bullshit you can use, so you are." She leaned close enough that Weiss could feel the blonde's hot breath on her face, Weiss' heart beating faster in fear of the buxom brawler's intimidation, and she frowned heavily, "I refuse to let you be lonely like you were before ever again. Do you understand?"

"I understand you're trying to force me to live a life _you_ design for me! I get plenty of that at home, from my-"

Yang's offhand slammed into Weiss' stomach, winding her and surprising her enough that the words escaped as a wheeze rather than intelligible speech, and her hands fell to the blonde's arm, fist resting against her stomach. The Schnee knew the blonde had held back, her punches able to crush bone and rend flesh on Grimm, but it still knocked her for a loop, "You are insufferable, you know that? _You have someone_ , Weiss! Someone you care for, and who cares right back. That is damned rare, but you'll just throw it away over nothing."

"This world is hell, and in this job you die young nine times out of ten. Want to know a secret? I didn't _want_ to be a Huntress. I wanted to be an artist, and travel the world seeking inspiration and fun. But I became one because Ruby wanted to, and I couldn't leave her to die." Red eyes bored into blue, anger into fear and surprise, and Yang took a breath, "I did it because love is all that matters in the world. I wanted to be with my sister, to enjoy the time we have in this world together. I lost _two_ mothers, and I learn my lessons. Ruby will probably die young, but I'll die first. _That_ is love, Weiss. Sacrifice. Jaune knew how you'd react, how could he not with his power? But he prioritized protecting you from whatever the hell is coming over his personal wants. _That_ is his show of affection!" Yang pulled Weiss into a hug, smiling and holding her comfortingly for a second before speaking again, "I get it, you're scared. I get if you wanna go and eat, take a minute to calm down and stuff, and come back. But don't throw away good things in your life. Please, Weiss, don't make me watch that. I can take all the punishment the world can throw at this body, but I can't see the people I love hurting. I'm too weak for that."

Weiss sighed quietly, closing her eyes and ignoring the dull throb in her stomach, before speaking again, "Fine, you've… persuaded me. I'll think about it, over lunch, if you absolutely insist."

"Yep!" Yang quipped lightly, letting her go and turning to walk towards the cafeteria, "Today was pizza day, I hope they have some sausage left over, Nora had pancakes earlier so they might!" Weiss rubbed her stomach for a half-second, shaking her head at the mood reversal the blonde had shown, before following after. "I'll text Ruby, find out when we need to head to the headmaster's office."

She couldn't help but smile, ever-so-slightly, at the excitable blonde.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"So then, what should we do next?" " **If she is truly an enemy…"** Pyrrha asked quietly, turning to look straight at Jaune. "This is quite a problem, and not one we can leave alone. It will not sort itself, after all."

"I think it would be for the best if we go straight to Ozpin, tell him everything. Maybe he helps, maybe he doesn't, but we won't know until we try and if he does that could tip the balance." Blake explained quietly, amber eyes boring into the floor in thought and ears twitching for the same reason. "I don't think we are really going to discuss the obvious facts of what needs to be done, it's fairly obvious."

"I think the thing we need to discuss is what we do if he decides not to do anything at all. Or simply doesn't believe what we say." Ren added simply, Nora cuddling against his side quietly while everyone talked and planned. "Jaune, does Ozpin have any information on your abilities? Perhaps he has acted oddly, indicating suspicion of it?"

"No, he's aware of it. I proved it to him a while back, I'm not worried about that." Jaune explained simply, grimacing when Blake raised an eyebrow at another untold thing, though thankfully no one said anything, "Reading minds is one thing, but finding out about a freakin' demon or whatever in someone's head? That's much, much more of a stretch than anything I could conceive of someone easily believing."

"I can understand that, I guess. I mean, Ozpin seems smart, so he should totally believe us but…" Ruby sighed, grimacing slightly and almost pouting at the dislikable facts, "I guess he might not, though… I mean, it is kinda crazy, ya know?" " **I know I wouldn't if I were in his shoes..."**

"So then, our plan if he doesn't believe us?" Blake asked quietly, steering the conversation towards productivity rather than anxiety expertly. Jaune spent the smallest of moments considering if that was left over from her training in the 'Fang or not, before dismissing it as unimportant, "This… Entity is aware of Jaune, he can't just ignore it either. I have contacts he could use, old White Fang friends who left like I did. They might be willing to help, if I am running too."

"So if we don't get our help, we might have to just run?" Jaune asked instantly, disliking the option immensely, as much as his ability told him everyone else felt. "I… That isn't a very good option."

"No, but in a situation where all options are bad, it may be the better one. If we stay and are attacked, I can not guarantee all of our survival. Some of us would probably escape with our lives, but as many wouldn't." Pyrrha sighed sadly, rubbing her thumb and index finger together nervously. " **We don't know her strength. She may be easily defeated, or she could take the Beacon Staff to defeat..."**

"So we run then, if we need to." Ren said simply, not sounding in the slightest upset about the possibility, "Do not mistake, I would rather not have to run like that. Being Hunters is Nora's dream, and mine as well. But we will protect our friends, regardless." " **Family would be as apt a term as friend, at this point. I have lost enough family, I won't lose more."**

The room grew quiet for a moment, before Nora - of course - broke it, hating nervous silences as much as awkward ones. "So let's go find out what Ozpin says already, so we can make our decision on what to do next. We won't get anything done sittin' on our bums." " **-"**

Jaune took a long, deep breath before sighing worriedly, and standing, "Okay then, I'll go and meet with Ozpin. Try and convince him I'm telling the truth, and that he should do something now while the option is still there." He pointed at Blake, face grim and serious as he spoke now, anxiety fading and leader emerging to the surface quickly, "Call your friends, make sure we have that route plotted out. Pyrrha, with her, watch her back."

"Yes, Jaune."

"Understood."

"Nora, Ruby and Ren, pack all of our things up. Whether we leave or not, we need to be ready for whatever we have to to be ready. Ruby, get your sister and partner to help later, if Weiss is willing." He paused for a second, grimacing sadly and sighing, "And if Weiss won't work with us, make sure she's got somewhere she can go as well. I know she won't want to go to Atlas."

"Yep~"

"Gotcha."

"Will do, Jaune."

"And I'll go, and… Talk to Ozpin… Yeah…" He trailed off, awkwardness coming back full swing along with the nervousness, and clapped his hands quietly for no real reason.

Ruby, seeing her friend flail slightly, hopped up with a wide smile, "Okay, team, let's go kick some butt!" Jaune silently thanked her, watching the others all stand and follow her out of the room, excepting Ren and Nora who immediately started pulling out suitcases and bags.

And Jaune left, to head towards the Headmaster's office.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Jaune stood in front of the elevator's door for almost ten minutes, frozen in place completely and simply trying to force his mind to work properly, to plan out what he would say and how. He was nervous, of course, of that there had never been any doubt. Before, he was scared of dying, of the pain of it, the natural reaction to danger. But now?

He feared failing his friends more than dying because of it. Afraid he'd cost them their dreams, or worse their lives, because of what he'd found out. Their futures were, and always had been really, brighter than his could ever conceive of being. All of them were amazing fighters and people, and now they were at risk. And he didn't even know exactly _what_ the risk was.

And that was a risk he would never allow to come to fruition, if he could somehow cobble together the way to prevent it. Otherwise he'd die fighting it, of that he was sure. Everyone was so sure they could just run and be fine, that no one would suffer overly much for it as a result. But he knew, as much as he knew _Blake_ knew, that that was not a good way to live. Or a very long-term way to live, for that matter and for obvious reasons.

So, finally forcing his nerves down and taking a deep breath, he reached out and pressed the button to call the elevator down. The tower that the Headmaster's office rested atop was tall, but the elevator arrived rather quickly with a quiet ding, and the doors slid open.

Ozpin smiled at him calmly, leaning against the back of the elevator expectantly, and Jaune blinked owlishly at him, "You _are_ aware that your Scrolls all have trackers, and we have cameras, yes?" " **And I got tired of waiting for you to come up, so here I am."**

"Actually, I wasn't aware in the slightest… But now that you mention that, do you monitor visiting Scrolls as well by chance?" Ozpin raised his brow slightly, normally bright eyes turning into hard glints, "I… Can we go to your office for this? I feel too... exposed out here."

Ozpin gave the terrified, lanky young Hunter-to-be a long look, nodded, and made room in the elevator for first half of the ride was quiet and, for Jaune at the least, awkward. Ozpin was more than used to awkward elevator rides to briefings and meetings, mostly thanks to being damned old, but… Something told him that there was something up here, important enough to not even wait for his coffee, "Jaune, I think you should tell me what is on your mind. If you don't, I fear that you may suffer a heart attack." " **And if it is truly concerning you enough to come to me, it is surely a major issue, is it not?"**

"I… When I'm walking through the halls, I hear things, you know? I look at someone and... Boom, a thought, or a feeling, or whatever is in their heads at the time. I'm used to it, I just ignore it nine times out of ten." Jaune shrugged, almost shyly, and sighed tiredly, "But… I don't know her full name, or anything, but I'd recognize her anywhere. When I looked at her…"

"You heard something, I assume." The statement was just that, a statement of simple fact, but Jaune nodded all the same when the doors slid open and followed the older man towards his desk, "And it must have been quite the thing as well, to bring you running direct to me." " **And a good thing too, any delays may hamper my ability to protect you and your friends."**

"I heard a voice. Well, an _extra_ voice. Not just hers," He sighed, taking a long breath and half-collapsing onto the chair across from the Headmaster tiredly. "It sounded off. Warped and wrong to its core. I felt repulsed just hearing it, and almost panicked. And… And it sensed me right back."


	26. Chapter 26

**Twisted~ So, from now to the next - and hopefully last - chapter, I don't know how much Mika we'll have. She's on her own fic, which is awesome. Anyways, in this chapter we'll see quite a few plans laid out, by quite a few people indeed. Not sure on it's length, since I do these prior to actually writing it, but still.** _ **Might**_ **be kinda kinda short, honestly, if I stick to just people making plans. But I'll hopefully be starting on the finale as soon as I finish this.**

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"What, exactly, do you mean, mister Arc?" Jaune flinched and looked away from the older man at how hard his voice went, and he heard him sigh lightly, "Forgive my harshness, but this… Frankly, I see no way it could be possible." " **And the threat there is high as well, if she is unfriendly as she seems to be…"** "What did she look like?"

"Uhh… Kinda like a black haired Yang, but a lot older I guess. She was wearing a black uniform as well, if that helps." He said quietly, sighing again, more out of frustration with his failure to get her name than anything else, "I got out of there as fast as I could when I heard that voice, Headmaster. I wasn't paying close enough attention."

"Your instinct drove you to flight so forcefully you lost track of your surroundings? You lost track of your enemy? It… It is instinctive to fear certain things, for Humans. Grimm, mostly." Ozpin sighed, eyes boring into the desk in front of him while he thought, "If that is the nature of what you heard, then my concern is more warranted than I thought. But… How is that even possible? That is what interests, and worries, me to no end right now."

"I don't have the slightest clue, sir. I just… I knew you'd know what to do, or at least have some kind of idea or something." Jaune looked at Ozpin, part in desperation and part in exasperation, and sighed when the other man stayed quiet, his thoughts a blur of things Jaune couldn't understand about seasons and girls and, of all things, Pyrrha, "Why would you think of her?"

"Hm?"

"Pyrrha. You thought of her, and something about seasons and women… What does she have to do with anything?" Ozpin smiled slightly, almost a grimace honestly, and sighed quietly, "Sir?"

"Jaune, tell, me, what do you know about fairy tales?" Ozpin smiled, reclining in his chair comfortably and letting out a comfortable breath. Jaune merely gave him a confused look, waiting for him to speak and explain what he meant, "Are you familiar with the Tale of the Old Man and his Seasons? Or do you know it by the name of the Four Maidens?"

"I don't know either, honestly. Sorry, sir." He grimaced, and Ozpin spun in his chair to look out the window at the sky, enjoying the sight for a few moments before speaking.

"Once upon a time, in a place we no longer know the location of by the sea, an old man lived in a small cottage all alone. He had lived there his entire life, rarely stepping out of his home for more than a moment. And never opening his door for anyone for any reason, or any person." Ozpin paused, taking a long sip of his now-cold coffee before continuing, "I'll get to the gist, as I sense we may be short of time. One day, he met several girls that he grew attached to. They made him happier in a year than he had been in centuries. So he gave them gifts. The power to control the very elements of the seasons, Winter, Summer, Spring and Fall. Not a Semblance, mind you. Actual, legitimate, magical power."

Jaune almost wanted to argue, and he knew Ozpin was aware of this, but deep down, thanks to his power… he knew it was true, so he instead took a deep breath and exhaled slowly," And, uh, what does this have to do with me?"

"We need someone to replace one of those women. Someone strong, loyal, brave, strong…" He gave Jaune a long, hard look, frowning grimly and knitting his fingers together comfortably, "You know who I am referring to."

Jaune did, of course. No one could hide their thoughts from Jaune, for better or worse at this point he couldn't be sure. So when Ozpin asked the rhetorical question, jaune knew his answer instantly and completely. He hated it, of course. He could sense Ozpin's own fears over… Something to do with the prospect, though Jaune couldn't discern with without asking directly. And he didn't know _what_ to ask to force the thoughts forward. But it, truly, didn't matter to Jaune in the least.

"You want Pyrrha…"

"Yes. I need her to become a Maiden, because we need to use that power against whatever this is." Ozpin explained calmly, giving the boy a thing smile and forcing all thoughts of the woman in his basement from his mind to avoid scaring the already frightened young man, "I will handle all of the intricacies with her, I just need you to convince her to do it in the first place. Her power combined with your ability and my resources will guarantee everyone's safety."

Jaune took a long time to respond, and a normal man may have grown worried over him in that time. But Ozpin was far, far from normal, and knew enough about Jaune to already know his decision, "Fine. Tell me what I should do, exactly."

Ozpin simply smiled simply, taking a long drink of his coffee and reaching for his Scroll. "Glynda? I need you to start preparing my selection and escort her to the Vault. We have a new piece that will let us move much, much faster on the table." Also, I want dossiers on every single woman with black hair that Jaune has talked to in the last week. Get any and all information on them and their teams to my Scroll as soon as possible." He pressed the end-call button a moment later, not waiting or needing to for her confirmation, "As for you, Jaune, I need you to come with me to speak with Miss Nikos about this, in the Vault. Normally, I would prefer waiting to ensure she is the best option, but the ease with which we can recruit her should be taken into account here. As well as your information."

Jaune simply nodded and closed his eyes, hoping he'd made the right choices.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Cinder sat in the shower, unable to even enjoy the hot water massaging her back as her mind swam in orders and instructions, ideas and demands. Her mistress was angry and afraid, the former the norm for the Grimm-mother, but the latter… That was new. Not entirely unwarranted, however, as the Grimm-mother had survived so long mostly on her secrecy alone, because as strong as she was - and she was a god in her own right - she couldn't stand against the planet's entire military might. They'd barrage her over and again until she died, both she and her Mistress knew that.

" _Salem, I can easily kill the boy. But if I do, then we both know our plans will be halted. Should I have our allies leave while I do this, to limit the damages?"_ There was no verbal response, Salem was too angry for that. Merely a sense of affirmation, making Cinder sigh tiredly and agitatedly. " _I understand, Mistress. It shall be done. Do I need to worry about subterfuge now, or should I just attack directly?"_

" **No! StRike now at the BOY, ElsE he shall ruIN everyTHing!"** Cinder was surprised that Salem actually put in the effort to set aside her anger and speak, flinching at the rage and hatred that still leaked though. She nodded, mentally affirming that she udnerstod the instructions while she towled off and grabbed her clothing, " **USe the TwO HumAnS with you as well. ThEY aRe ExpeNdable Enough."**

" _Understood. I will prepare them and lead them myself, he won't stand a chance against us. Even if his team is present, we'll still crush them easily enough."_ She felt the Grimm's satisfaction before it withdrew from the connection, and Cinder sighed tiredly. Conversing with the Grimm-mother was always exhausting, especially longer conversations like the one she'd been in. Only for Cinder, of course, but that only meant that her mistress didn't care to leave until she was satisfied.

"Mercury, Emerald, get your equipment and prepare yourself. Plans have changed, we need to eliminate someone here and withdraw." She held a hand up when the duo made to complain, eyes closed and sighing lightly, "Salem's orders directly. If you so desire, you may discuss it with _her_ when we meet her again."

"Because that's such a great thing to do… Fine, who the hell is it that's so damn important that we have to throw away everything we've worked for?" Mercury half-demanded, the young man completely unwilling to truly _demand_ anything from Cinder in the slightest. Truly, he didn't require the explanation he sought to follow orders, "Just seems like a waste is all."

"Yeah, I mean, I don't want to just cut and run after everything either…" And Emerald, the little girl that she knew to be nursing a crush on her. Which was useful as much as it was annoying, so Cinder left it. She raised an eyebrow at the young woman and she sat up straighter on the bed, looking away nervously, "Sorry."

"Relax, Grasshead, it's just a question," Mercury chided condescendingly, laying on his own bed in the corner comfortably until he saw Cinder's irritated expression, "S-Sorry, ma'am."

"Someone has discovered Salem and her nature, and we need to eliminate them immediately. We don't have time to waste making a plan to keep our other goals in sight, so once he is eliminated we withdraw immediately." The criminal mastermind sighed sadly, grimacing and trying to shove the bitter taste of retreat out of her mouth, "We can use the 'Fang's resources to strike in other ways. They won't be quite as… subtle, I'm sure, but they will work just fine, in time. We just need to take time with it and move carefully."

The two merely nodded, each starting to move towards the lockers where they could recover their gear, and to attack as ordered.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Twisted~ There. Next chapter I finish it all up and move on.**


End file.
